
Glass—^ 



Book 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



A GLANCE 



THE GREAT SOUTH-EAST, 



CLARKE COUNTY. ALABAMA. 



AND ITS SURROUNDINGS, 



I^IEiO^viE IS^O TO •^^^^. 



By key. T. H. ball, A.M. 

Corresponding Member of the State Historical Society op Wisconsin. 

Author of '• Immortality op the Human Soul." "Lake County. 

Ind.'Na. prom 1834 to 1872," " PRiNciPLEi= of Church 

Government," "Lake op the Red Cedars." 



yo...-' 



ii^. 



GROVE HILL, ALABAMA. 

1882. 



"V 






Copyright, 1879, 
By T. H. ball. 



KKIGHT & LEONAK-D . I 



CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTION. 

CHAPTER I. 

Early Travels and Conflicts in the Great South- 
east. 

CHAPTER II. 

Spanish, French, and English Residents. 

CHAPTER III. 

The Mississippi Territory. 1798 to 1812. Amer- 
ican Settlers. 

CHAPTER lY. 

Indians of the South-East. 

CHAPTER V. 

General Topography, Flora, and Fauna of 
Clarke. 

CHAPTER Vl. 

Clarke County. 1812 to 1820. The Creek War. 
Growth. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Clarke and Marengo. 1820 to 1830. Americans 
AND French. 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Clarke County. 1830 to 1840. 



CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IX. 
Clarke County. 1840 to 1850. 

CHAPTER X. 

Clakke County. 1850 to 1860. 

CHAPTER XI. 

The Period of Conflict. 1860 to 1865. 

CHAPTER XII. 

The Transition Era. 1865 to 1875. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Family Records and Sketches. 

CHAPTER XIY. 

Sketches of Women. 

CHAPTER XV. 

Sketches of Other Prominent Citizens. 

CHAPTER XYI. 

Religious History. 

CHAPTER XVII. 
The Colored People. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Geology and Undeveloped Resources. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

The Present. 

CHAPTER XX. 

Literary Productions and Concltision. 



I^TEODUCTIOISr. 



THE state of Alabama is nearly as large as tliat 
part of the island of Great Britain called England. 
The area of England, according to some authorities, is 
fifty thousand nine hundred and twenty-two square 
miles. The area of Alabama is fifty thousand seven 
hundred and twenty-two square miles. The homes of 
"Merry England " are known throughout the English- 
speaking world. The homes of Alabama, smooth and 
harmonious as is the name, have not perhaps attained 
the same wide-spread celebrity. 

Among the sixty-six counties into which at present 
this state of Alabama is divided, the county of Clarke 
is by no means the most fertile, nor the one most 
abounding in mineral resources ; nor is it needful to 
claim for it the most wealth and culture. But it is, as 
to its area, one of the largest in the state, it has a pecul- 
iar locality, and its history is very attractive. Indeed, 
Clarke county, with its surroundings, the region which, 
on the following pages, will be not only introduced to 
the reader, but spread out in some of its details, if not 
the most beautiful in the state is certainly in some 
parts grand and in others picturesque ; and if not the 
most productive in respect to material resources, it con- 
tains the localities of the oldest known American settle- 
ments in the state, the localities of some of our most 
noted historic events, and of other events of a tragic 
and of a romantic interest. 

The reader who goes along with the writer through 



b • CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

all the chapters of this volume can judge for himself 
whether the central locality for an interesting research 
has been wisely chosen ; even should he not be able 
fully to appreciate the feelings of that citizen in the 
earlier times, who, when asked in the city of Mobile 
where he was from, replied, "From the independent 
state of old Clarke." 

THE TITLE. 

The view of this region which this volume presents 
is called a Glance into the Great South-East, because 
the reader will thus be enabled to form quite a full and 
correct idea of the early settlement, the productions, 
and the present condition of that larger region charac- 
terized by the growth of the long leaf pine, and of that 
still larger region known as the cotton-growing belt ol 
the United States, at least of that portion of it lying 
east of the Mississippi river. Judge Meek, of Mobile, 
called a work which presents the leading historic 
events of this same part of Alabama, which was pub- 
lished in 1857, "Romantic Passages in Southwestern 
History," a title, he says, suggested by his publishers; 
and in an oration found in that work, an oration deliv- 
ered in 1839, entitled "The Southwest," he assigns 
this name to the states of Alabama, Mississippi, and 
Louisiana. But what might have been appropriate in 
1839, when we had no Texas, 'New Mexico, nor Cali- 
fornia within our borders, has ceased to be appropri- 
ate in the present extent of the territory of the United 
States. 

Texas was annexed in 1845 ; by the treaty of Gau- 
daloupe Hidalgo, at the close of the Mexican war, other 
territorv was ceded to the United States in 1848 ; and 



INTRODUCTION. 7 

in 1853 still further territory was secured by the Gads- 
den purchase. And so in reference to the whole of 
this broad land, our country in 1877, Florida, Geor- 
gia, and Alabama, are here called, what they truly are, 
the Great South-East. Steinwehr, the author of a 
leading modern geography, calls the three states above 
named, with the two Carolinas, the South-Eastern 
States, of which agriculture, he says, is the leading oc- 
cupation ; cotton and corn, sweet potatoes and rice, 
being "the principal products." As New England 
constitutes our North-East ; as Washington, Oregon, 
and Idaho constitute our North-West ; so California, 
Nevada, and Arizona are now the South-West ; and 
Florida, Georgia, and Alabama are now the South- 
East. 

ORIGIN AND OBJECT. 

While visiting in the county for the purpose of re- 
cruiting his health in the summer of 1874, the author 
ascertained that interesting material existed, and could 
probably be collected, for a local history of this region, 
and he suggested the same in a printed circular ad- 
dressed "To the Citizens of Clarke County." Receiv- 
ing encouragement from several prominent citizens, he 
undertook to collect the material ; and leaving Chicago 
October the 17th, 1877, re-visited the county, issued a 
second circular, and spent many delightful weeks in 
making the needful researches. As the year 1878 
opened, at midnight of Monday, he left Mobile for his 
Western home, to place the accumulated material in 
its present form. 

In September of 1836 the editor of the Clarke Coun- 
ty Post, B. M'Cary, urged the desirableness of collect- 
ing from the early settlers the materials for Alabama 



8 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. • 

-history. Speaking of " very many matters now resting 
only in the memory of man," he well said: "If these 
matters are permitted to pass from our reach, they can- 
not be recalled. Now the materials for our history 
might, in the different sections * ■^ * be collected 
* * * thereby contributing * * * to a work 
essentially valuable and indispensably necessary." He 
further urged that if not thus collected, when searched 
for in the future, "the facts and circumstances of the 
early settlement" would not be within reach, and that 
thus "a mass of useful information " would be "shame- 
fully lost." 

Forty-one years have passed since his appeal was 
made, and soon the last of the men and the women of 
1812 will have gone the way of all the earth. 

The object of this work is fourfold. 1st. To aid, if 
even slightly, in rescuing from oblivion and placing in 
a permanent form some of the incidents, the traditions, 
the family recollections of the earlier settlers, left un- 
recorded by Pickett and Meek, histoi-ic material which 
they both prized so highly, and in securing a large 
amount of which they both accomplished so much. 

2d. To place this local history, which otherwise 
would soon perish, in connection with that collected by 
others, in one compact volume, for the gratification and 
instruction of not only the present but of succeeding 
generations. That to treasure up our local history and 
secure its transmission to succeeding generations is de- 
sirable, is not now, among intelligent Americans in this 
centennial era, an open question. 

3d. To present more fully to the general readers of 
historic literature in other portions of the Union, and in 
the present position of this great nation, a view of life in 



INTRODUCTION. 9 

this South-East, both in earlier and in the present time, 
free from any sectional coloring, or prejudice, or love. 
4th. To set forth the undeveloped resources of the 
county before the view of capitalists, of home-seekers, 
and of the intelligent and enterprising, wherever they 
may be, in this progressive, restless, rapidly changing, 
migratory age. 

PERSONAL REMARKS. 

It may be asked, Why do I especially undertake 
this work i And my first answer is, Because it is a 
variety of literary work which I peculiarly love. Per- 
sons should do, if possible and right, what they like to 
■do. Seeing a tine opportunity for pleasant employ- 
ment, why, in this land of freedom, should I not im- 
prove it ? So far as my knowledge extends, for the 
object I have in view, no other part of the South-East 
furnishes such an excellent central position as the 
■county of Clarke. My second answer is. Because my 
first recollections of life are among the pines, the dog- 
wood blossoms, the calycanthus fragrance, the passion 
fi.owers, the cotton bales, and the red clay hills of the 
state of Georgia, twentv-five miles from the city of 
Augusta, where my father. Colonel Hervey Ball, had 
for many years his home ; and because during quite a 
portion of the time between 1850 and 1860 my own 
home was in the county of Clarke. I claim therefore 
a personal knowledge of the long-leaf-pine region ex- 
tending through about fifty years. 

My third and final answer is, Because a maiden, in 
my eyes beautiful, who became more dear to me than 
any New England or Western girl, the choicest one to 
me of all the millions in this land, becoming the mother 



/ 



10 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

of my one son and one daughter, was born and reared 
where once lived the singularly beautiful native Mobilian 
girls, where afterward brown Choctaw maidens dwelt, 
and where between Muscogees and the Whites such 
stern conflict once raged. The fact that mj own wife 
was chosen from among the maidens of Clarke, and 
spent her first nineteen years of life within sound of 
musket-shot from Fort Sinquefield, I oflfer as reason suf- 
ficient why I should undertake to collect and transmit 
to others the local history of this beautiful region. 

THE AUTHORITIES. 

I name as the leading authorities for the statements 
in this volume, 

1. Pickett's History of Alabama, 1851; 

2. Meek's Romantic Passages in Southwestern His- 
tory, 1857; 

3. Garrett's Public Men of Alabama, 1867; 

4. Brewer's Alabama, 1872; 

5. Yarious general and special histories, particu- 
larly Prescott's works, and Pamsay's History of the 
United States; 

6. Benjamin Davies' Geography, 1815; 

7. Holcombe's Baptists in Alabama, 1840; 

8. Mississippi Statutes, Library of Colonel J. W. 
Portis; 

9. Files of Old Papers, Office of Hon. J. S. Dickin- 
son ; 

10. Public Documents, Office of Probate Judge ; 

11. Life of T. W. Price, 1877; 

12. Life and Times of General Samuel Dale ; 

13. Personal Pesearclies and Conversations with, 
various Citizens in 1874 and 1877. 



INTRODUCTION. 1 1 

On the first four of the authorities named I offer a 
few observations. 

"Romantic Passages in Southwestern History," by 
Alexander B. Meek, who is called by Pickett "Our 
own accomplished writer, and earliest pioneer in Ala- 
bama historj^," contains five orations and five sketches. 
Two of the orations and four of the sketches contain 
many valuable historic statements. Correcting a few 
of these which pertain to localities in Clarke county, 
verifying others, I have made free use of the facts in 
this very valuable work, so far as they came within my 
special field. Judge Meek, as a scholar and writer, 
needs no praise from me. Poet as well as orator, it is 
sufiicient to say that in his day "he was esteemed one 
of the brightest intellectual ornaments of his state." 
Long will the citizens of Alabama preserve his name 
and his writings. I am glad to acknowledge indebted- 
ness to so pleasant and amiable a man, to so good a 
scholar, and so beautiful a wi-iter. 

The History of Alabama by Albert J. Pickett, is a 
work of great value in several respects. As a history 
of the state it is not complete, since it only reaches the 
commencement of state life, closing its records in 1820, 
although referring to the growth of the state up to 1830. 
It is rather an account of Indian tribes, of Spanish 
invaders, of French, Spanish, British, and American 
settlers upon Alabama soil ; of the conflicts between 
these settlers and the Indians ; and then of a state 
organization. On the subjects of which it treats it 
seems to present carefully ascertained facts ; and on 
these subjects, especially concerning the Indians, the 
Spanish, the French, and the British, its diligently 
accumulated facts are of great value. A gentleman of 



12 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

leisure, having time and means at his disposal, and 
with a strong desire, these are his words, "to be use- 
ful to his race," Albert J. Pickett performed for all 
succeeding historical writers in the South-East a noble 
work, in collecting such a mass of facts supported by 
such abundant authority. The preface has for me a 
peculiar charm, one sentence of which I venture to re- 
peat : ""Believing that the historian ought to be the 
most conscientious of men, writing, as he does, not 
only for the present age, but for posterity, I have en- 
deavored to divest myself of all prejudices, and to 
speak the truth in all cases." That he so endeavored 
I doubt not; and the many authorities obtained, named 
in the preface and in the body of his work, are abun- 
dant evidence of painstaking research. 

I have not failed to note that the two writers named 
both died at about the age which I have now reached. 
Albert J. Pickett, son of Colonel William P. Pickett, 
who was a representative and state senaior, was born 
in Kortli Carolina in 1810, and died in 1858. The 
publication of his history i'l 1851 is cal'ed by Brewer 
"the crowning event of his life." 

Alexander B. Meek was born in South Cai'olina in 
1811, and died at Columbus, Mississippi, in 1865. 
The former was therefore .oriy-eight, and the latter 
fifty-one years of age. And fifty-one is the number of 
years which I also count in this year of 1877. 

Garrett's "Public Men of Alabama,"" is quite a 
large volume, filled with records, reminiscences, and 
sketches of the various governors and members of the 
Alabama Legislature during those eventful thirty years 
from 1837 to 1867. Himself a man in public and 
oflicial life, Secretary of State for twelve years, 



INTRODUCTION. 13 

William Garrett was well qualified for the work which 
he accomplished. Born in Tennessee in 1809, and, like 
Judge Meek, the son of a Methodist minister, he had 
reached at the time of the publication of his work the 
full maturity of his mental powers. I have valued 
especially his sketches of the various writers in Ala- 
bama and their diiferent works. I have examined 
with care his statements concerning some of the public 
men of Clarke. 

Brewer's "Alabama"" presents, according to the 
author's preface, "a collection of such facts in relation 
to the present and past of Alabama as best deserve 
preservation." It contains a brief "• Outline History" 
of seventy-four pages, a condensed view of the "mate- 
rial aspects" of the state, lists of officers and of coun- 
ties, and short sketches of the diiferent counties ; also 
the "Alabama War Records." Like Garrett's work it 
devotes considerable space to a record of public men, 
that is, men in official and political life. I have con- 
sulted it with interest and profit. 

The author, W. Brewer, was born near the hamlet 
of Belmont, in Sumter county, Alabama, not quite 
forty years ago. His father, like the father of Pickett, 
was a planter and a country merchant. The family came 
originally from Georgia, one branch being among the 
earliest settlers of Washington county. W. Brewer is 
now Auditor of the state of Alabama. His mother was 
a sister of Rev. Isaac Hodden, a pioneer Presbyterian 
minister, the founder of the first Presbyterian church 
in Montgomery. 

Other historic writings pertaining to this same part 
of the Union, this South-East, are thtse: Bench and 
Bar of Georgia, Hawkin's Sketch of the Creek Coun- 



14 OLAEKE AXD ITS SUKROFXDIXGS. 

try. Stevens' History of Georgia. Historical Collections 
of Georgia, Irving" s Conquest of Florida, and a num- 
ber of other works which may be found named among 
Pickett's numerous authorities; but no local history, 
such as this work purports to be, has yet appeared, so 
far as I can learn, concerning any portion of the state 
of Alabama. 

Other works, connected especially with Florida proper 
and with the Indians there, are Sprague's Florida War, 
Giddings' Exiles of Florida, 0sceola by Mayne Reid, 
Osceola by A. B. Street, and a poem. The Seminole's 
Defiance. 

Fronde, a noted EngKsh historian of our day, says 
that history is "a voice forever sounding across the 
centuries the laws of right and wrong. Opinions alter, 
manners change, creeds rise and fall, but the moral law 
is written on the tablets of eternity.'' Perhaps echoes 
at least of that voice the listeninff reader here will hear. 



CHAPTER 1. 

EARLY TRAVELS AND CONFLICTS IN THE GREAT 
SOUTH-EAST. 

THE twelve hundred square miles of surface now 
known as the County of Clarke, in the State of 
Alabama, form a part of that portion of the United 
States of America properly called the Great South- 
East. Much has been said and much written con- 
cerning the Great North- West, its extent, its re- 
sources, its growth, its importance. On these pages 
will be found historic facts concerning this smaller but 
earlier known South-East, showing something of its 
beauties and capabilities, its native children and its 
European occupants. 

That grandest of all voyages of discovery, made by 
the white-haired son of an Italian wool comber with 
three small Spanish vessels in 1492, opened the way for 
many adventurers to cross the Atlantic. Columbus, 
that daring, resolute, persevering, noble-minded, de- 
vout and ill-treated Genoese navigator, had discovered, 
though he knew it not, for Spain and for all Europe a 
magnificent continent and fertile islands, well called the 
New World. Among those who were ready and eager 
to follow where he had led the way came not only the 
Venetian Cabots, John and Sebastian, perhaps in 1494, 
surely in 1498, discovering and exploring the North 
American coast ; the Italian, Americus Yespucius, in 
1499, exploring the South American coast, and giving 



16 CLAKKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

to the public b}'' means of his ready pen glowing ac- 
counts of this New AYorld ; the French Denys explor- 
ing in 1506 the coast around the Gulf of St. Lawrence; 
but many daring and adventurous Spaniards. De Leon, 
an enthusiast, seeking a fabled western fountain of 
immortal youth, discovered in 1512 a beautiful coast 
which he called Florida. Balboa in 1513 crossed the 
Isthmus of Darieu and discovered that broad ocean 
which Magellan, making the first recorded voyage 
around the globe, in 1520, called the Pacific. 

Hernando Cortez between 1519 and 1521 conquered 
the wealthy empire of Mexico, and that region of the 
ancient Aztecs, with its rich mines of silver and gold, 
its ancient temples and cities, its valleys and plateaus 
exceedingly rich in vegetable products, remained for 
three hundred years under the control of Spain. 

Hernando, or Ferdinand De Soto, an influential, 
wealthy, and ambitious Spaniard, having obtained from. 
Charles V, grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella, then 
king of Spain and emperor of Germany, a conditional 
grant of that large South-East then known as Florida, 
left Spain with a choice army of six hundred men, in 
1538, and soon landed on the coast of Cuba, of which 
island he had been appointed governor. Remaining 
about a year upon the island, making preparation for 
conquest, he left Cuba May 12, 1539, with an army of 
a thousand men, in nine vessels, and soon landed at 
Tampa Bay. He left his ships and set forth into an 
unknown wilderness upon an expedition in some re- 
spects the most remarkable of any undertaken by the 
Spanish explorers. 

It is through him and his expedition that we are 
able to look upon the region, now the county of Clarke, 



EARLY TRAVELS AND CONFLICTS. 17 

in 1540, which is eighty years before the Pilgrims set 
foot on the New England shore. 

Before following De Soto into this triangular region, 
this inverted delta between the Tombigbee and Alabama 
rivers, then held by a powerful tribe of Indians and for 
the last hundred years endeared to so many by the 
associations that cluster around lovely and peaceful 
homes, a region that with its surroundings was to wit- 
ness early efforts at settlement by French, and by 
Spanish, and by English representatives of the three 
great nations that laid claim to the fairest portions of 
America, it will be of interest to glance for a moment 
at the noted leaders in Europe. 

From the time of the discovery of the American 
islands by Columbus to the time of De Soto's daring 
expedition, while restless, resolute, and adventurous 
men had examined these Western shores, looked into 
the dark forests, conquered kingdoms, crossed the two 
great oceans, mighty rulers and conflicting principles 
were contending for mastery in Europe. The begin- 
ning of the Sixteenth Century was noted for more illus- 
trious monarchs than have at ant^ other one period held 
dominion in Europe. These were Henry YIII of En- 
gland, Francis I of France, Charles V of Spain, Leo 
X Pope of Rome, spiritual and temporal ruler, and 
Solyman the Magnificent, Sultan of Turkey. These 
were, says the illustrious Scottish historian Robertson, 
"each of them possessed of talents that might have 
rendered any age wherein they happened to flourish 
conspicuous." 

Henry VIII, born in 1491, uniting the rival housi s 
of York and Lancaster, became monarch of England in 
1509, and was the most wealthy prince in Europe. 



18 - CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDHSTGS. 

Leo became Pope in 1513, and, if not young, was still 
in the prime of life. He, however, died suddenly in 
1521. Francis became king of France in 1513, then 
twenty-one years of age. 

Charles, born in 1500, became king of Spain in 
1516, on the death of his grandfather Ferdinand, hav- 
ing as Regent in Spain for twenty months. Cardinal 
Ximenes, Archbishop of Toledo, then about eighty 
years old, who was one of the most remarkable men of 
that or of any age. In 1519 Charles was elected Empe- 
ror of Germany. And in 1520, the year in which 
Raphael died, Solyman became Sultan over the Turkish 
Empire, Constantinople having been taken by the Turks 
and made the capital of this empire in 1453. 

Four young men of more than ordinary talent were 
controlling at this period the affairs of Europe. It was 
also the time of Luther, Melanchthon, Zuingle, and 
Erasmus ; a7id the proud and haughty Cardinal Wolsey 
was at the height of his wealth and power. 

Copernicus was then living, and Calvin, Ignatius 
Loyola, and Michael Angelo. The European world was 
in commotion ; wars Were waged, religion and litera- 
ture and science were advancing ; the Feudal System 
was beginning to die ; the Middle Ages were giving 
place to Modern Times. 

It' is not strange that in such an age great enter- 
prises were undertaken in the New World. Well 
might Cortez say, having returned to Spain, having 
made his way to the carriage of his king, when Charles 
coldly inquired who he was: "I am a man who has 
gained you more provinces than your father left you 
towns." 

It is not strange that De Soto, who had been a com- 



EARLY TRAVELS AND CONFLICTS. 19 

panion of Pizarro in Peru in that conquest of 1532, 
struck out boldly northward and westward into the 
Florida forests with his one thousand chosen men. The 
whole South-East, it is to be remembered, was then 
Florida, extending along the Atlantic coast so far as 
the Spaniards had any knowledge, and westward and 
northward over unknown wilds. Whether the name 
was taken by Juan Ponce de Leon from Pasqiia Flor- 
ida^ or the Feast of Flowers, that is Palm Sunday, the 
day on which it was discovered ; or was given on ac- 
count of the abundance of flowers, is at this day uncer- 
tain. 

Panfilo de Narvaez in 1528 had sailed from Cuba 
with an army to conquer Florida. He was defeated by 
the Indians. Jean Ortiz came, with some other Span- 
iards, probably in that same year, in search of Narvaez. 
These were captured by the Indians, their clothing re- 
moved, and the}' were compelled to run for their lives 
while the Indians shot at them with their deadly arrows. 
Ortiz alone survived, and him they were about to roast 
on a wooden gridiron, when his life was spared through 
the entreaties of a beautiful girl, a Southern Pocahon- 
tas, the daughter of Uceta the Indian Chief. Ortiz was 
appointed by the chief to keep their temple, which was 
situated in the edge of the dark, dense forest, in which 
temple were deposited, in wooden boxes, the bodies of 
their dead. The lids were kept upon these boxes by 
means of weights and it was the duty of Ortiz to pro- 
tect these from the incursions of wild animals. Death 
was to be the penalty if he sufii'ered a solitary body to 
be thus removed. One night he fell asleep and was 
awakened by the falling of a cofiin lid. Seizing his 
bow he rushed out, saw in the dim distance a clump of 



20 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

bushes, from whence proceeded a sound as of the 
craunching of bones. He directed thither a swift arrow 
and soon all was still. Proceeding to the spot he 
found the dead body of a child, which he replaced in 
its box, and an enormous panther lying dead, which he 
dragged into the town and gained thereby the respect 
of the Indians. 

This Ortiz one of De Soto's soldiers rescued while 
the army was encamped beside Tampa Bay. Havirg 
been eleven years a captive he had learned the language 
of the Indians of the coast and became very useful as 
De Soto's interpreter. 

A full account of this wonderful Florida Expedition 
does not come within the design of this volume. That 
alone could fill a volume. There are three original ac- 
counts of the expedition. One was written by a Por- 
tuguese cavalier accompanying De Soto. A second 
account was written by the Inca *Garcellasso de la Yega, 
by birth a Peruvian, the son of a Peruvian princess and 
a Spaniard of noble blood. He became a distinguished 
writer, and from two journals written in De Soto's camp 
and from the account of an intelligent cavalier, who 
was himself in the expedition, his narrative was com- 
piled. The third was written by Biedma the commis- 
sary of De Soto. These narratives form the basis for 
Theodore Irving' s ''Conquest of Florida." 

These three journals Pickett procured from England 
and France, and where diflferences exist between the 
statements of Pickett and others his statements are here 
preferred as being the most reliable. 

It has been already said that by means of the expe- 

* Prescott writet: this name Garcelisso de la Vega. He also wrote an account of 
Pera and its conquest. 



EARLY TRAVELS AND CONFLICTS. 21 

dition of De Soto we can glance into what is now Clarke 
as far back as 1540. It is through these Spanish, Por- 
tuguese, and Peruvian narratives that the account of 
that expedition has been transmitted to us. 

Well was De Soto fitted by his experiences in Peru 
to lead such an expedition. Gold was his object. It 
was the great object of nearly all the Spanish explorers 
and conquerors. They had found it in Peru, obtaining 
in that conquest of this precious metal collected for the 
ransom of the king, about fifteen millions and a half of 
dollars, and as much more in the capture of Cuzco. 
"History," says Prescott, "affords no parallel of such 
booty having fallen to the lot of a little band of military 
adventurers like the conquerors of Peru." A richer 
empire than even Mexico or Peru De Soto hoped to find 
and conquer. He found it, but with its resources unde- 
veloped. Compared with the Mexico and Peru of the 
present, what is the South -East as Anglo-Saxon 
Americans have developed it ? 

Four and a half million bales of cotton produced 
this year, of 1877, in the great cotton growing belt, 
across so much of which De Soto's army passed, worth 
to the producers some two hundred and twenty-five 
millions of dollars. And this the reward of labor for 
a single year. But the Spaniards wanted the gold, 
which was actually in the soil of Georgia and the Caro- 
linas, dug out, melted down, ready for them to export 
to Spain. Tliat tl.ey found not. 

It will be of interest to review the thorough prepa- 
ration made by tliis experienced leader for the conquest 
he had planned. 

Helmets, breastplates, shields, coats of steel armor; 
swords, lances, cross-bows, guns called arquebuses, and 



22 CLAEKE AND ITS SUEROUNDINGS. 

one cannon ; were provided for his little army, an army 
equalling in number one solitary regiment of modern 
troops. His cavalry numbered two hundred and thir- 
teen, and these Spanish cavaliers are said to have been 
"the most gallant and graceful mein of all Spain." 
Fleet grey-hounds and large, fierce blood-hounds, with 
chains and handcuffs and collars for the neck, were pro- 
vhled to aid in capturing and securing Indians wh n- 
ever it might be needful. Workmen of various trades, 
with needful tools and large quantities of steel and iron, 
and al-o scientific men with crucibles for refining gold, 
accompanied the expedition. De Soto bad also provided 
a large drove of hogs, some cattle, and some mules, to 
travel with them into the wilderness; with food to last 
two years, and European merchandise for the purpose 
of ti ade. Twelve priests, eight other ecclesiastics, and 
four monks, with the needful robes of ofiice, sacrament- 
al bread and wine, and various holy relics, made up 
the religious department of this exploring band. Well 
says Pickett: ''Never was an expedition more com- 
plete, owing to the experience of De Soto, who upon 
the plains of Peru had ridden down hundreds in his 
powerful charges, and had poured out streams of savage 
blood with his broad and sweeping sword." 

This well equipped body of daring adventurers leav- 
ing their winter quarters in early March passing north- 
ward and then toward the northeast, hearing that gold 
was to be found in that direction, passing through what 
is now the State of Georgia, reached a river now called 
the Savannah. On the eastern bank of this river was 
an Indian town, afterward called Silvi r Bluff, touth of 
the present city of Augusta, "where lived an Indian 
Queen, young, beautiful, and unmarried, and who ruled 



EARLY TRAVELS AND CONFLICTS. 23 

tlie country around to a vast extent. She glided across 
the river in a magnificent canoe, with many attendants, 
and, after an interesting interview witli De Soto, in 
whicli they exchanged presents, and passed many agree- 
able compliments, she invited him and his numerous 
followers over to her town. The next day the expedi- 
tion crossed the Savannali upon log rafts and in canoes, 
and quartered in the wigwams and under the spreading 
shades of the mulberry." After remaining here several 
weeks De Soto, early in the month of May 1540, keep- 
ing with him for some time the person of this " beauti- 
ful young Queen," resumed his march, passing up the 
Savannah to its head waters, thence westward to the 
head waters of what is now called the Coosa, then turn- 
ing southward, meeting with various adventures, and 
early in June reaching a large Indian town where now 
stands the town of Rome in the State of Georgia. The 
chief of this town in his address of welcome to De Soto, 
and alluding to the latter's request to have corn col- 
lected sufficient to last his army two months, is reported 
to have said: "Here I have twenty barns full of the 
best which the country can afiPord." Besides corn, the 
Spaniards found, in this old Indian town, large quanti- 
ties of bear's oil, laid up in gourds, walnut oil, equal to 
butter in its flavor, and "pots of ho'ney." For thirty 
days the Spaniards shared the generous hospitalities of 
these natives of Georgia, repairing their own wasted 
vigor and recruiting their horses. When ahout to de- 
part, De Soto, through the persuasion, it is said, "of 
some of his unprincipled ofiicers," demanded from this 
hospitable chief "a number of females to accompany 
them in their wanderings." The dennind became 
known to the inhabitants and in the following night 



24 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

they left the town, retiring to the secure retreats of the 
surrounding forests. The Indian maidens of Georgia 
scorned to become the slaves and paramours of Spanish 
cavaliers. 

The march of the Spaniards was resumed without 
these Indian women. Continuing southward they en- 
tered, July 2d, the town of Costa. 

Says Pickett: "The Spaniards were now in Alabama, 
in the territory embraced in the county of Cherokee 
and by the side of the Coosa, one of our noblest 
streams. Kever before had our soil been trodden by 
European feet ! Kever before had our natives beheld 
white faces, long beards, strange apparel, glittering 
armor, and stranger than all, the singular animals be- 
strode by the dashing cavaliers ! De Soto had discov- 
ered Alabama, not by sea, but after dangerous and 
difficult marches had penetrated her northeastern bor- 
der with a splendid and well-equipped land expedition." 

Three sentences in regard to De Soto, from one of 
Meek's orations, may properly be inserted here. 

"Far as his eagle-eyes can pierce, from the last 
elevated spur of the Look-out Mountains, he beholds a 
virgin wilderness of all forests, intersected, like lines of 
silver, by giant rivers, along whose banks rove, in 
savage and defiant magnificence, the most powerful of 
all the primeval races that tenanted this continent. His 
purpose is to explore, to conquer, and to reduce to the 
uses of civilized man, those boundless regions, in which 
he fondly thought to find the golden treasures of Mexico 
and Peru, or the still more precious waters of the 
Fountain of Youth, which was to restore his decaying 
faculties and give him an immortality upon earth. The 
fabulous narratives of Ponce de Leon, and Pamphilo 



EARLY TRAVELS AND CONFLICTS. 25 

Narvaez, had thus brr)ught the lingering remnants of the 
Age of Chivalry — of the Flower of Spanish Knight- 
hood — to expend their last waves upon the Indian- 
guarded forests of Alabama." 

Whatever claims these Spaniards may have had to 
the respect of the natives, they were, as a band of ex- 
plorers, avaricious, licentious, and cruel. De Soto had 
brought from the Florida forests, taken from among 
the Indians of the coast, five hundred men and women 
as bearers of burdens for the army. When any of 
these died or escaped their places were supj^lied by 
fresh captives taken from the nearest Indian town. 

De Soto soon entered the beautiful and fertile 
province of Coosa, and experienced the hospitality of 
the generous natives. Pickett says, referring to the 
Portuguese narrative: " The trail was lined with towns, 
villages, and . hamlets, and ' many sown fields which 
reached from one to the other.'" "The numerous 
barns were full of corn, while acres of that which was 
growing bent to the warm rays of the sun and rustled 
in the breeze. In the plains were plum trees peculiar 
to the country, and others resembling those of Spain. 
Wild fruit clambered to the tops of the loftiest trees, 
and lower branches were laden with delicious Isabella 
grapes." 

While this Spanish band were thus marching through 
the unexplored wilds of Alabama and sharing the hos- 
pitalities of the unsuspecting natives, in one of the 
centres of refinement and power in Europe, in the land 
of sunny, vine clad France, a young girl of twelve, 
born heiress to a throne, was resisting with all the 
strength of her will the commands of her i-oyal uncle, 
Francis I. of France. The reluctant marriage of the 



26 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

gifted daiigliter of Margaret, Queen of Navarre, was 
solemnized July 15, 1540, the unwilling bride " dressed 
in a robe of cloth of gold covered with jewels of im- 
mense value," a ducal coronet, set with i-ieh gems, 
encircling her brow, the trail of her velvet mantle 
being bordered with ermine, the display costing more 
than the coronation of Charles Y. the sovereign of De 
Soto, who had desired to secure this girl as a wife for 
his own son Philip II, of Spain. While French cour- 
tiers in July of 1540 were witnessing the brilliant 
scenes of a royal marriage, Spanish cavaliers were meet- 
ing for the first time the native daughters of Alabama, 
and were soon to meet with those whom Spanish 
traditions call "incomparable" in beauty. Five days 
after that marriage in France, July 20, 1540, an Ala- 
bama pageant passed before Spanish vision. The 
invading army were in sight of the town of Coosa. 
"Far in the outskirts, De Soto was met by the Chief, 
seated upon a cushion, and riding in a chair supported 
upon the shoulders of four of his chief men. One 
thousand warriors, tall, active, sprightly, and admirably 
proportioned, with large plumes of various colors on 
their heads, followed him, marching in regular order. 
His dress consisted of a splendid mantle of martin 
skins, thrown gracefully over his shoulder, while his 
head was adorned with a diadem of brilliant feathers. 
Around him many Indians raised their voices in song, 
and others made music upon flutes. The steel clad 
warriors of Spain, with their glittering armour, scarcely 
equaled the magnificent display made by these natives 
of Alabama." After the speech of welcome by the 
Chief and the response by De Soto, they advanced 
together into the town, the former riding "in his sedan 



EARLY TRAVELS AND CONFLICTS. 27 

chair," the Spanish leader on liis fiery war horse. 
Tliis capital city contained five hundred houses, and 
here the adventurers remained twenty-five days, and 
again marched southward. Passing through Indian 
towns, gathering wild grapes which grew in great 
abundance, encamping at various places, De Soto 
arrived September 18, at a large town called Tallase, 
surrounded by a wall and terraces. This town was on 
the Tallapoosa, along the banks of which river were 
extensive corn-fields, and Indian villages among these 
fields of ripening maize. 

While encamped at this place De Soto received an 
invitation from a renowned chief named Tuskaloosa to 
visit his capital city, a town called Maubila. (This was 
situated according to Pickett at that place on the Ala- 
bama river now called Choctaw Bluft" and he had 
Indian traditions to guide him to this conclusion. 

The following are reasons which an intelligent 
citizen of the county, J. M. Jackson, assigns for 
locating the old Maubila at French's Landing rather 
than at Cli(jctaw Bluff". Negatively: No spring of 
water to supply such a town is now convenient to 
Choctaw Bluff. No arrow-heads, no Indian remains, 
no pottery, no living traces of a once great town, are 
found there. Positively: At French's Landing, about 
four miles above Gainestown, springs of good watei- 
now exist. Also, there "the greatest abundance of 
Indian relics are still to be found." Several years 
ago a number of Spanish bridle-bits were found in the 
cave near this landing; and at another time, near the 
same place, a large quantity of lead was found in the 
form of bullets. These reasons seem quite satisfactory. ) 

De Soto accepted the invitation. He crossed the 



28 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Tallapoosa, sent a small body of his cavalry to inform 
the chief that the Spanish leader was near, and soon 
presented himself before the proud Mobilian. He was 
found seated upon two cushions, on a large and elegant 
matting, and on a natural eminence "which com- 
manded a delightful prospect." 

His address of welcome was very short. De Soto's 
reply was conciliatory; a large pack horse was selected 
of sufficient strength to carry the huge frame of Tuska- 
loosa, and side by side, the Spanish leader and the 
Indian ruler, journeyed toward Maubila. They crossed 
the Alabama, marched over what is now the county of 
Wilcox, passed October 17, through "populous towns 
well stored with corn, beans, pumpkins, and other 
provisions," which seems to have been the eastern part 
of the present county of Clarke. So near then as may 
now be ascertained, the first European explorers 

ENTERED THE LIMITS OF ClARKE ON THE 17tll OF OCTO- 
BER, 1540. It was the year in which Miles Coverdale 
was editing the great Bible, the Bible in English hav- 
ing been appointed to be read in the churches of 
England two years before. 

It was the year in which Henry YIII dissolved the 
monasteries in England. Five years before, the society 
of Jesuits was established by Ignatius Loyola^ and five 
years afterwards, the Council of Trent began its ses- 
sions. It was moreover the very year in which was 
born in the city of Cuzco in ancient Peru that Gar- 
cellasso Inca de la Yega, who was to be the most 
illustrious chronicler of this expedition and also of that 
noted conquest of Peru; whose father, says Prescott, 
" was one of that illustrious family whose achievements, 
both in arms and letters, shed such lustre over the 



EARLY TRAVELS AND CONFLICTS. 29 

proudest period of the Castilian annals," and whose 
"mother was of the Peruvian blood royal ;" who said 
of himself in his preface to his account of Florida. " I 
have no reason to regret that fortune has not smiled on 
me, since this circumstance has opened a literary career 
which, I trust, will secure to me a wider and more en- 
during fame than could flow from any worldly pros- 
perity;" who at the age of twenty, in 1560, became a 
resident of Spain, and died in Cordova in 1616 at the 
age of seventy-six. 

What was Clarke county in 1540? Doubtless the 
same springs, and creeks, and rivers were flowing 
which flow now ; no doubt the nature of the soil pos- 
sessed the same natural inequalities, then as now; but 
where were the present pines, and magnolias, and 
beech, and cedar ? And who were then the inhabitants ? 
A glimpse at the inhabitants we shall have. De Soto 
having become suspicious in regard to the intentions 
of Tuskaloosa, before daylight on the morning of 
October 18, 151:0, at the head of one hundred horse- 
men and one hundred footmen, taking witli him the 
haughty Chief, marched rapidly southward. This 
proved to be for the Maubilians and Spaniards alike, 
an eventful day. At eight in the morning they reached 
the town, the capital of Tuskaloosa' s dominion. It is 
described as situated on a beautiful plain, beside a river, 
a river large in the eyes of Spaniards, containing 
eighty handsome houses, each capable of holding a 
thousand men. They were built doubtless of wood, 
but few of the Spaniards had an opportunity to examine 
them minutely, and no special description seems to 
have been given, except that these houses all fronted 
on a large public square. The town was surrounded 



30 CLARKE AXD ITS SFRROrXDIXGS. 

by a liigli wall made of the trunks of trees, set firmly 
in the ground, side by side, additional strength being 
given by cross timbers, and by large vines interlacing 
the upright trunks. The whole wood work is said to 
have been covered with a mud plaster, which resembled 
handsome masonry. Port holes were arranged in this 
wall, and towers, sufficiently large to hold eight men. 
were constructed, one hundred and fifty feet apart. 
There were only two gates, the one opened toward the 
east and the other towjird the west. 

Into the great public square of this walled town, on 
the morning already named. Tuskaloosa and De Soto 
entered, about two hours after sunrise : amid songs 
and music from Indian flutes, while ** beautiful brown 
girls" danced gracefully before them. Dismounting 
from their horses, the two leaders were seated to- 
gether for a short time under a canopy, when Tuska- 
loosa, not receiving a satisfactory reply to a request 
which he had made, left De Soto and went into one of 
the large houses. 

It seems that De Soto, although an invited visitor at 
this town, had on the way treated the Indian Chief 
whose guest he was, as a hostage in his hands, restrain- 
ing in some respects his personal freedom. This h^d 
incensed the haughty Maubilian and from the house in 
his own capital, where he had sought relief from the 
presence of De Soto, he refused to return to take break- 
fast with the Spaniards. He suggested to the Spanish 
interpreter, that it would be well for his Chief to remove 
his forces fi>>m that territory. De Soto perceived that 
danger was near, and instructed his men to be ready 
for conflict. Disturbance soon began. A Spaniard as- 
certained that more than ten thousand warriors were in 



EAliLY TRAVELS AND CONFLICTS. 81 

the houses, abundantly supplied with clubs and stones, 
with bows and arrows ; that the old women and children 
had been sent away ; and that the Indians were design- 
ing to capture the two hundred Spaniards and D.- Soto, 
Little time was given for that morning's meal. An 
Indian drew a bow upon a group of Spaniards, A 
Spanish soldier struck him down with his sword, and 
the red streams of blood began to tlow. In Peru 
De Soto had exhibited his superior horsemanship and 
the strength and speed of his fier}- war-horse before the 
Inea Atahaullpa, when the Spaniards under Pizarro 
first beheld him on the fifteenth of November in 1532, 
De Soto being then the best mounted cavalier in Pizar- 
ro's troops; and he had fought with the Pizarros in the 
great square of Caxamalca in that terrible onslaught, 
shortly before the setting of the sun on the next day, 
when that Inca was captured and from two to ten thou- 
sand Peruvians were slain, on that ''Saturday, the six- 
teenth of November," "the most memorable epoch 
in the annals of Peru.*' Then De Soto led one division 
of the cavalry and Hernando Pizarro the other, under 
Francisco *Pizarro, the Conqueror of Peru. NowDeSoto 
himself was Commander in Chief, and a i-ace braver 
than the Peruvians and better armed than those attend- 
ants of the Inca in Caxamalca, were around him in the 
city of Maubila, on the banks of the Alabama, and the 
fierce conflict had actually begun. The first bloody 
encounter was brief. From among more than ten 
thousand enraged warriors, De Soto at the head of his 
men, fighting hand to hand, led his little band outside 

* There were four Pizarros, Gonzalo, Juan, Hernando, and Francisco, broth- 
ers or half brothers. Francisco is the one usually meant by Pizarro. A fifth, 
Pedro Pizarro, a relative of this family, was with Pizarro iu Peru. 



32 CLARKE AWD ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

the gate into the adjoining plain. Then his cavalry 
rushed for their horses, which they had tied outside the 
walls, and which the Indians had already begun to kill. 
Still retreating from the surrounding thousands the 
Spanish leader halted some distance out upon the 
plain. 

By this time the Indian burden bearers of the expe- 
dition had arrived with nearly all the baggage, and 
these with their burdens the Maubiiiaus hurried within 
the town. Having thus captured and disposed of the 
baggage and camp equipments, the excited warriors 
crowding without the gate tilled the air with their "ex- 
ulting shouts." This seems to have aroused the martial 
fury of the Spaniards. De Soto at the head of his hun- 
dred horsemen, followed by the footmen, charged furi- 
ously upon the Indians, and with a repetition of the 
old Peruvian slaughter, drove them again within the 
gate. But from the port holes and towers the missiles 
of the Indians drove the Spaniards back from the walls 
again into the plain. Once more the Maubilians rush 
outside the gate, or drop from the walls, and contend 
fiercely but vainly with Spanish swords and lances, now 
and then small parties of fresh horsemen arriving and 
plunging at once into the thick of the fight. Three 
hours thus passed with terrible slaughter, one side re- 
ceding and again advancing, clubs and arrows and bare 
flesh, forming but a poor defense against burnished 
steel, Spanish lances, and charging war-horses, when 
at length the Maubilians re-entered their walled town 
and closed behind them the heavy gates. 

Midday had passed, and already the sun of that day 
seemed to be nearing the lofty tree tops, when the last 
of De Soto's forces under Moscoso, his camp-master, 



EARLY TRAVELS AND CONFLICTS. 33 

arrived. De Soto ought now to have retired, and to 
have left these natives of the soil in possession of their 
strong vs^alled town ; but such was not the custom of 
Spanish adventurers in American wilds, and his bag- 
gage and camp equipments were within. So more 
blood must flow, more carnage follow. Uniting all his 
force, forming his best armed footmen into four divi- 
sions, for storming the walls, armed with bucklers for 
defense and battle-axes for assault, a charge was made. 
The gates were at length forced open and the mortar 
broken from the walls. Those ponderous battle-axes 
had before this day made impressions upon well de- 
fended European castles, and it could not be expected 
that Indian woodwork or masonry would withstand the 
assault of desperate and infuriated trained knights and 
warriors. The followers of De Soto rushed into the 
inclosed square and horrible destruction was again re- 
sumed. The horsemen remained without to cut off all 
retreat, and the merciless Spaniards commenced the 
work of extermination. Often, it is said, the brave 
Maubilians drove the Spaniards outside the walls, but 
as often they returned with renewed impetuosity. The 
young Maubilian girls who had danced so gracefully in 
the morning, now fought and fell beside the bravest 
Indian warriors. At length De Soto, wounded and in- 
furiated, passed out of the gate once more, mounted 
his Hery war-horse, and, returning, charged through the 
Indian ranks. Others followed his example, and the 
fearful work of death went on. Coats of mail and 
bucklers protected the Spaniards from many fatal 
wounds, while their sharp swords and well tempered 
lances made terrible havoc upon muscle unprotected 
by shield or breast-plate or heavy clothing. Well 



34 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

armed soldiers ou tierv war-horses had made fearful 
carnage as they charged through crowds of Indians in 
Mexico and Pei-u, and the same terrible destruction was 
wrought this day, when the natives of Alabama learned 
for the first time and to their sorrow what was meant 
by " the charge of the war-horse in full career." Help 
or hope there was none and they could only yield up 
their lives. No quarter was asked, no mercy shown. 

But the day was drawing to a close. For nine hours, 
in its different stages, the conflict had been waged. The 
houses were now set on fire. Amid flame and smoke, 
the fearful carnage was near its end. The sun went 
down, far to the westward, beyond other and greater 
rivers which Spaniards had not yet seen. But '• Mau- 
bilia was in ruins, and her inhabitants destroyed." The 
number slain was estimated by one chronicler at eleven 
thousand. Picket suggests six thousand as the lowest 
estimate. 

This disastrous day decided not alone the fate of a 
mighty Indian tribe, but it decided also De Soto's des- 
tiny. He lost eighty-two soldiers and forty-five horses, 
his valuable equipments and baggage, including camp 
furniture, instruments, clothes, books, medicines, the 
gathered pearls, the holy relics and the priestly robes, 
the flour, the wine, and nearly everything of value 
brought from the ships. One surgeon alone survived, 
and there were then seventeen hundred wounds to dress. 
And although he learned that his vessels were awaiting 
him in Pensacola Bay, so thoroughly had many of the 
cavaliers become disheartened that they had determined 
to desert him and his cause when they reached the 
coast; and thus De Soto was obliged to change his plans, 
and after delaying a month while wounds were healing 



EARLY TRAVELS AND CONFLICTS. 35 

and provisions were collected, and a number of Mau- 
bilian women of "incomparable beauty" were brouglit 
into the camp, instead of returning to his ships, pro- 
curing new supplies, and planting a colony in that 
beautiful region in the heart of Spanish Florida, now 
Alabama, in desperate sullenness he led his disheartened 
troops into the northern and western wilderness. The 
troops had expected to march southward toward the 
coast, and it was questionable whether they might not 
be as Caesar's troojDS were once charged with being 
when in a disheartened mood, not hearing the com- 
mand, when the order should be given to march ; but 
De Soto had threatened to put to death the first man 
who should show that he wished to go toward the ships, 
and although the order to march northward took the 
cavaliers by surprise, none refused obedience, and on- 
ward to a dark destiny the ill-fated expedition began 
again its course. Passing northward through a fei'tile 
region now known as the counties of Clarke, and Maren- 
go, and Greene, like a thunder-cloud which has brought 
destruction to fields and forest, the sullen Spaniards 
crossed the Black Warrior and entered what is now the 
state of Mississippi. They spent the winter among the 
Chickasaws. In April, 1541, the year in which Igna- 
tius Loyola* was chosen general of the "Society of 
Jesus," the society from which grew the order of Jes- 
uits, they resumed their march toward the northwest, 
now numbering less than seven hundred men, and about 
one hundred horses. In May of that jesir they reached 
the "Father of Waters;" they crossed that mighty cur- 
rent, wandered over trackless wilds, and returned to the 

* Loyola was born iu a Spanish province, in the castle of Loyola, in 1491. He 
■was at first a soldier, and then an ecclesiastic. He died at Rome July 28, 1558. 



36 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

-Mississippi in May of 1542. De Soto's work as a 
warrior, an explorer, a leadei*, was over. He had found 
no gold region, had conquered no mighty empire, he 
was not to outrank Cortez and Pizarro in giving prov- 
inces to Spain, he was no more to mount the war-horse, 
his right arm would wield the sword and hurl the lance 
no longer, he had fought his last battle, and a slow, 
malignant fever soon terminated his stormy career. 

(It was the same year in which passed from the scenes 
of earth Cardinal Richelieu, the brilliant prime minister 
of France, whose genius and intrepidity had enabled 
him to put down insurrection at home and to influence, 
if not control, the politics of all Europe.) 

Cortez returned to Spain and died December 2, 154T, 
as he said himself in his last letter to his king, " old, 
infirm, and embarrassed with debt." His remains, at 
first deposited in a chapel of a monastery in Seville, in 
the same old town where the remains of Columbus for 
awhile reposed, were afterward removed to Mexico, and 
at length, but not finally in 1794, j^laced in a hospital 
which he had founded and endowed. 

Pizarro was assassinated by a band of conspirators 
Sunda}^, June 26, 1541, in his own apartments at Lima, 
about midday, and his remains in a bloody shroud were 
hastily buried in an obscure corner of the cathedral by 
the glimmering light of a few tapers held by some col- 
ored domestics. A few years after, it is said, his re- 
mains were placed in a sumptuous coffin and deposited 
in a conspicuous part of the cathedral. 

But De Soto closed his eyes in death when he had 
no superior in command upon the whole broad conti- 
nent, and his body sunk to its last resting-place in the 
channel of that majestic river the discovery of which is 



EARLY TRAVELS AND CONFLICTS. 37 

inseparably connected witli his name. Governor of the 
island of Cuba and Adelantado of Florida, in the wilds 
of Spanish Florida, he found one of the grandest burial- 
places ever allotted to a Spaniard. 

The remnant of De Soto's army, now three hundred 
and fift}^ in number, under command of Moscoso, in 
July of 1543, having with great effort constructed seven 
brigantines, embarked upon that broad and rapid river, 
keeping with them still "the beautiful women of Mau- 
bilia." In September they reached Spanish settlements 
in Mexico, and sent to Cuba the tidings of De Soto's 
fate. 

It may be noticed as an interesting coincidence, that 
during these years of De Soto's wanderings, that is, from 
early in 1540 till June 1542, Gronzalo Pizarro with three 
hundred and fifty Spaniards, one hundred and fifty be- 
ing mounted, and four thousand Indians, made his cele- 
brated march to the Amazon, an expedition which 
Prescott considers, for dangers, hardships, and brave 
endurance, almost unmatched in the annals of Ameri- 
can discovery. He, like De Soto, took along in his 
expedition " an immense drove of swine," also about 
a thousand dogs. Eighty of his men returned to Quito. 



CHAPTER 11. 

SPANISH, FRENCH AND ENGLISH RESIDENTS. 

FROM a Spanish, a Portuguese, and a Peruvian 
chronicler, it appears that a large town called Mau- 
bila, or Mauville, from which comes the name Mobile, 
was situated on the west side of the Alabama river, so 
near as may now be known, not far from the present 
Choctaw Bluff, or near French's Landing. It also appears 
that a powerful tribe of Indians, called Maubilians 
and Mobilians, occupied the region of which this vol- 
ume is designed especially to treat, and that a fierce 
battle was fought, one of the bloodiest ever waged be- 
tween whites and Indians, within the 'present limits of 
the United States, in October of 1540. It appears, also, 
from the facts presented in the narratives, that this 
battle turned De Soto from his proposed plan — actually 
decided his destiny — and, perhaps, changed for all the 
future the character of the institutions and the special 
inhabitants of this South-East. 

Taking now a position between the two rivers, the 
Alabama and Tombigbee, near the Indian Mobile, and 
where the subjects of Tuskaloosa's government had 
their fertile fields and peaceful, populous villages, rais- 
ing an abundant supply of corn and beans and other 
vegetables, and feasting on luscious grapes and deli- 
cious plums, before the Spanish tornado passed, let us 
look out into the surrounding wilderness of Spanish 
Florida and observe the earlier and later European 
settlements. 



SPANISH AND OTHER RESIDENTS. 39 

These first Spanish invaders had remained within 
the walls of the burnt and desolated city for eight days, 
and then had taken possession of Indian huts upon the 
plain. Foraging detachments sent out by their com- 
mander found abundant supplies of provisions in the 
neighboring villages, and when at length on Sunday, 
the eighteenth of November, they started for the 
northern and western wilds, passing over this region, 
now Clarke and Marengo, they found it "extremely 
fertile" but "uninhabited." 

Year after year passed away ; in Europe Charles V. 
of Spain met with reverses, and in 1556 Philip II. his 
son, became king, whose life and resources were spent 
in vain eftorts to control the consciences of his subjects 
in the Netherlands ; Elizabeth began in 1558 her long 
reign in England ; and in 1560 the civil wars com- 
menced in France ; and for almost one hundred and 
fifty years this fertile region was untrodden by foot of 
white man. Philip II. needed his cavaliers at home, 
and Spanish adventurers made but slight attempts to 
colonize or possess Florida. French explorers and 
settlers were now attracted to the Hfew World, and a 
French colony led to the Spanish settlement at St. 
Augustine in 1565. But into the interior their settle- 
ments did not advance. That old town on the eastern 
coast of the Florida peninsula, a few miles south of 
latitude 30°, is noted as being the first permanent 
European settlement in the United States. 

The solitudes of Alabama remained still unbroken, 
save as the children of the wilds continued on in their 
accustomed modes of life ; and ere long there were 
none living who had seen among their towns and vil- 
lages the long-bearded white men. 



40 clarkp: and its surroundings. 

2 In 1693 Spain took possession of West Florida, after- 
ward so-called, founded Pensaeola, and commenced to 
traffic with the Alabama and Chickasaw Indians. 

But from the distant North, from the frozen regions 
of what wo now call Canada, along the chain of Amer- 
ican lakes, and then down the immense valley of the 
Mississippi, a diiferent class of resolute, daring, and 
gallant adventurers were coming, to meet with the 
children of the forests and the natives of the South. 

As early as 1506, the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the 
coast adjoining had been explored by a French navi- 
gator. In 1604 the noted Champlain accompanied a 
French colony to America, and made the next year in 
Nova Scotia the first permanent French settlement. 
By 1668 the French had reached Lake Superior ; and 
in 1673 Marquette, a missionary, and Joliet, a trader, 
re-discovered the Mississippi river. In 1682 La Salle 
descended the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico, took 
possession of the country, and named it Louisiana, in 
honor of his sovereign, Louis XIY of France, whose 
long and brilliant reign commenced in 1643 and closed 
in 1715. 

LOUISIANA. 

Of the territory bearing the above name the Ala- 
bama and Tombigbee river region for some sixty-four 
years formed a part. In 1699, Iberville, a Canadian 
and also an officer of the French king, planted a colony 
on Dauphin Island and at Biloxi Bay. lie soon opened 
communication with the Choctaw, Mobile, and Chick- 
asaw Indians. These Indians had already been visited 
by missionaries and traders from the Spaniards in Flor- 
ida and the English in Carolina. In 1700 Iberville 
brought another colony of Canadians. In 1702 Bien- 



SPANISH AND OTHER RESIDENTS. 41 

ville, his brother, Governor of tlie Colony, removed liis 
headquarters from Biloxi to a new fort on MoVjile Bay, 
making that the capitol of all Louisiana, removing again 
in 1711, in consequence of an inundation, to the site of 
the present city of Mobile, whei-e he built Ft. Louis. 
At about 1700 then, a few years after the revocation of 
the edict of Nantes (1685), near the commencement of 
the Eighteenth Century, we can date the approach of 
the wliite man again to the waters of the Tombigbee 
and the Alabama, Pensacola having been settled by 
Spaniards in 1693, Dauphin Island by the French in 
1699, and the Mobile settlement on the Bay having 
been niade in 1702. In that year of 1700 there was 
born at Coweta, on the Chattahoochie, in the limits of 
the present Alabama, in what was then a part of the 
French Louisiana, an Indian princess, Consaponaheeso, 
better known as Mary, whose mother was a Muscogee 
Queen, her father being a white man, who in 1716 mar- 
ried John Musgrove, in after years a very wealthy In- 
dian trader, which Mary became the lirm friend of 
Oglethorpe and the Pochahontas of the Georgia colony. 
While tiius for one century and a half the wilds of 
Alabama had been left to their Indian occupants, settle- 
ments had dotted the Atlantic coast from Kova Scotia 
to the Carolinas. French and English settlers had 
planted themselves on the border of the great northern 
forests, on the banks of navigable rivers, beside shel- 
tered harbors on the ocean coast, and along the Great 
Lakes, with the determined purpose of the French and 
Anglo-Saxon races, to remain and hold the whole broad 
land. They had met with Pochahontas and Powhatan; 
had conquered the Pequots, King Philip and the Nar- 
ragansetts ; and had laid the foundation for those de- 



42 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

structive French and Indian "Wars which were to decide 
whether French or Anglo-Saxon blood should hold the 
supremacy on the American continent. 

For sixty -live years the French held the territory 
now included in Alabama. The population of their 
colony in 1712 was about four hundred. 

In 1713 officers of Crozat, a rich Paris merchant who 
had received from the French king a charter of this col- 
ony, took possession of the territory. They established 
trading and military posts at the head of the Alabama, 
near the union of the Coosa and Tallapoosa ; "at the 
mouth of the Cahawba; at Jones' Bluff on the Tom- 
beckbee ; at the present site of St. Stephens ; at J^ash- 
ville, on the Cumberland ; and at the Muscle Shoals 
on the Tennessee, then called the Cherokee." The 
Alabama waters began therefore now to be navigated 
by Frenchmen, and into the ancient forests French sol- 
diers and traders and adventurers penetrated. The 
dwellers between the rivers saw the white men come 
and go, and would be likely to call to mind the accounts 
their grandfathers had given concerning white and 
bearded strangers. From that time onward they were 
to have abundant cause to remember the white man. 
Says Meek: ' ' The French traders and missionaries were 
ever bold, adventurous, and enterprising, and it is not 
extravagant to say that every inch of our territory was 
trod by their feet, if not watered by their blood," before 
1763. ' 

Ft. Toulouse, the name of the post on the Coosa, was 
established in 1714; Ft. St. Stephens probably about 
the same time; and Ft. Tombeckbee, two hundred and 
fifty miles above Mobile, in 1736. British traders also 
from the Carolinas before 1714 penetrated these same 



SPANISH AND OTHER RESIDENTS. 43 

wilds, and, among many of the Indian tribes, carried 
on a lucrative traffic. French and British interests here 
as elsewhere came in conflict. The northern Atlantic 
colonies had, before the settlement on Mobile Bay, felt 
the eifects of one of those struggles called King Will- 
iam's War, which was terminated by the treaty of E.ys- 
wick in 1697. And these distant traders and remote 
Indian tribes felt some of the results of that war between 
England on the one side and France and Spain on the 
other, called Queen Ann's War in our colonial history, 
and in Europe The War of the Spanish Succession, 
which was terminated by the treaty of Utrecht in 1713; 
and also of King George's War ending in 1748, when 
was ratified the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. 

But the few French inhabitants along the Bay, on 
the banks of Mobile river, and at old St. Stephens, were 
too far removed from the English colonies of the coast 
to enter actively into these conflicts. They loved ease 
and pleasure; they found a delightful climate and wild 
game in abundance ; they formed alliances with Indian 
maidens ; they engaged in traffic with the Indians ; and 
at length opening plantations, cultivated rice, tobacco, 
and indigo. These plantations extended up the Tensaw 
and Mobile rivers, including many of the islands in 
these rivers. The first island below the union of the 
Tombigbee and Alabama contained the plantation of 
the Chevalier de Lucere. Whether any of these French 
settlers cultivated the soil of Clarke is uncertain. The 
first Christian marriages were solemnized in 1704, 
twenty-three girls having been sent to Mobile from 
France who in a few days found husbands. At the 
same time came four priests and four Sisters of Charity. 
The Roman Catholic religion was established, and 



44 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

priests and friars were soon sent among the neighboring 
tribes. Failing to make money b}" traffic and discour- 
aged by the hostility of the Indians especially of the 
Chickasaws, Crozat surrendered his charter in 1717. 
The French population was now about eight hundred. 
The French made settlements in what is now Missis- 
sippi, at JSTatchez and upon the Yazoo river. They 
founded J^ew Orleans in 1718. 

The name "Mississippi" became well known in 
France between 1716 and 1720. There entered into 
literature after that time the expressive phrase " Mis- 
sissippi Bubble." 

John Law, a native of Edinburgh, a celebrated 
financier, established in 17l6 a bank in France, by 
authority of the king, Louis XY., made up of twelve 
hundred shares, each share being three thousand 
*livres. For all public receipts this bank became the 
office, and in 1718 the Western or India Company, an 
association chartered the year before to manage the 
territory of Louisiana, was annexed to this bank, the 
Company having a capital of one hundred thousand 
livres. The same year this was declared to be a royal 
bank, and the shares soon "rose to twenty times their 
original value." Many became, as they supposed, 
suddenly rich, and in Paris and France expensive liv- 
ing and wild speculation naturally followed. But in 
two years the bubble burst. The bank shares sunk in 
value "as rapidly as they had risen, occasioning great 
and widespread financial distress and bankruptcy." 
Multitudes were financially ruined, and the distress 

i.* A French livre is equal to eighteen and a half cents. One share, therefore, 
equaled $555, and after the union of the Western Company with the bank the 
capital became $684,500. 



SPANISH AND OTHER RESIDENTS. 45 

was felt over all France. During these few years of 
supposed wealth and prosperity great activity had been 
manifested in promoting emigration to Louisiana. 

Many slaves had been brought from the coast of 
Africa and placed upon the French plantations. In 
1720 two hundred and sixty colonists came for the 
grant of St. Catherine, near Natchez, two hundred and 
forty for the grant of Lonore, and in 1721 three hun- 
dred came for the grant of Madame Chaumont at Pas- 
cagoula, two hundred German emigrants for the grant 
of Law on the Arkansas, and in June, 1722, two hun- 
dred and fifty more Germans came. This vessel 
l)rouglit the news of the failure of that great royal 
bank. In those days there was no ocean telegraph, 
and news, good or bad, did not fly abroad with a speed 
any greater than the wind. During these few years of 
active operations, by the Western Company, while 
wealth was supposed to be growing in their hands, 
more than seven thousand colonists came into various 
parts of Louisiana; but after the Mississippi Bubble 
burst this territory for a time was so neglected that the 
settlers suffered for the necessaries of life. 

The seat of government for the colony was removed 
from Mobile to JSTew Orleans in 1723, when the popu- 
lation tliere was two hundred, living in a hundred huts 
and cabins. The French province was then divided 
into nine civil and military districts. These were 
"Alabama, Mobile, Biloxi, New Orleans, Natchez, 
Yazoo, Illinois, Wabash, Arkansas, and Natchitoches." 
About this time Pensacola was taken from the Spaniards. 

In 1732 the Western Company surrendered their 
charter to their king. The population was then five 
thousand whites and two thousand slaves. 



46 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Bienville, again Governor under the king, made in 
11S6 an expedition against the Chickasavrs, passing up 
the Tombigbee with boats of various kinds, and with 
French, Indian, and colored troops, in all fifteen hun- 
dred, and with munitions of war. He was unsuccess- 
ful, and returned to Mobile a disappointed man. 

Again, in 1752, his successor as Governor, the Mar- 
quis De Yaudreuil, formerly governor of Canada, went 
up the same river with a fleet of boats with French 
troops and Choctaw warriors against the Chickasaws. 
He also was unsuccessful, and returned to Mobile, 
leaving those Indians still unconquered. Some can- 
non, said to have been found in the Tombigbee near 
Cotton Gin Port, above Columbus, have been credited 
to De Soto's expedition. This is evidently a mistaken 
conjecture. 

Meek says they were thrown there by Bienville on 
his retreat from the Chickasaws, but Pickett suggests 
that they belonged to the Marquis De Yaudreuil. The 
many conflicts of the French with the Indian tribes 
and their dissensions among themselves do not come 
within the design of this narrative, except the mention 
of their destruction of the Natchez tribe in 1Y32. 
They crossed and recrossed the Alabama and Tombig- 
bee rivers, crossed the land between the two, but 
seem to have made no settlement, perhaps to have 
opened no plantations here. Their traders and the 
English traders from the Carolinas, and, after the 
Georgia colony, led by Oglethorpe, was established in 
1733, traders from that colony, penetrated the wilds 
among all the Indian tribes of the South-East ; fur- 
nished them with many articles of European workman- 
ship, learned the trails and river fords, and how to 



SPANISH AND OTHER RESIDENTS. 47 

cross swift currents in canoes and floats, ascertained 
the geography of all this region, and formed alliances 
with Indian princesses and beautiful daughters of pow- 
erful chiefs ; thus preparing the way for a future migra- 
tion from those Atlantic colonies, and giving rise to a 
class of border men, Indians with the blood of whites 
flowing through their veins, who became in their day 
like some of old, " men of renown," noted warriors in 
battle, wealthy traders, shrewd diplomatists, strong 
friends, and dangerous enemies. 

The conflicting French and English interests had 
reached a crisis in 1753 in the wilds of western Penn- 
sylvania, when George Washington, then twenty-one 
years of age, was sent by Gov. Dinwiddle, of Virginia, 
into the disputed territory. In 1754 began in America 
that bloody French and Indian war, declared in Europe 
between Great Britain and France in 1756, when com- 
menced the " Seven-Years War," which ended in 1763. 

This long war, in which took place Brad dock's 
memorable defeat, the atrocious kidnapping and exiling 
of seven thousand peaceful Acadian French peasants, 
settlers in N^ova Scotia, commemorated in Longfellow's 
beautifnl poem, Evangeline, and that grand conflict on 
the Plains of Abraham, before Quebec when both the 
noted leaders, Wolfe and Montcalm, fell in this strife, 
called forth the most strenuous efforts of the sea-board 
colonies. In after years it was the subject of many 
a thrilling description, as the aged grandmother would 
tell the listening children and the stranger guest about 
the portents in the northern sky before that conflict. 

"And how she knew what those wild tokens meant, 
When to the Old French War her husband went." 



48 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Some of those exiled Acadians are said to have set- 
tled in West Florida. 

That strife between the French and English and 
their Indian allies determined the fact that the great 
nation wJiich was to he, from however many nation- 
alities it might be made up, would be distinctly An- 
glo-Saxon, however many as individuals might find 
lovely homes in its broad territories, and as Spanish, 
French, English, Irish, Welch, Scotch, German, Dutch, 
Swede, Norwegian, Dane, Swiss, Italian, or Chinese, 
might promote its growth. 

It became evident, after that desperate European 
and American strife, that the Anglo-Saxon element 
would rule this broad land, from Ocean to Ocean, from 
the Arctic Sea to the Mexican Gulf. 

The following are the facts concerning Louisiana 
given in Benjamin Davie's Geography, a work pub- 
lished in 18i5. Louisiana was discovered by the 
Spaniards in 1639. They soon deserted it. It was ex- 
plored by the French in 1682 under La Salle, who came 
down from Canada. In 1697" the king of France sent 
Iberville to continue the work begun by La Salle, and 
he established the first permanent settlement. In 1T17 
the Mississippi Company was formed in France. New 
Orleans was founded, in 1Y20. In 1762 Louisiana was 
ceded to Spain. In 1800 it was sold to Bonaparte for 
the kingdom of Etruria. In 1803 it was purchased by 
the United States from Bonaparte for fifteen million 
dollars. It comprised the state of Louisiana and Terri- 
tory of Missouri. Such was geographic history in 1815. 



SPANISH AND OTHER RESIDENTS. 



49 



WEST FLORIDA. 
When, in 176?,, France ceded to Great Britain her 
chiims east of the Mississippi, except the ishmd and 
city of New Orleans, which with her territory west of 
the Mississippi was ceded to Spain, Spain also c-eded 
Florida to Great Britain in exchange ior Havana, which 
had been taken from her by the English. Mobile there- 
fore, the Forts upon the rivers, the plantitions under 
cultivation, and the Spanish towns in Florida, became 
a part of the British possessions in North America. 
We may look next, then, for the approach of English 
colonists toward the region which De Soto left "ex- 
tremely fertile, but uninhabited." 

The English government divided Florida, that part 
of the early unknown region so called, which had re- 
mained until 1699 under the control of Spain, into 
two provinces, called East and West Florida. The 
northern boundary of East Florida seems not to have 
been well defined. 

The northern boundary of West Florida was the line 
of latitude 32° 28', or from the mouth of the Yazoo 
river due east to the Chattahoochie. This line crossed 
the Tombigbee a little south or" the spot where now 
stands Demopolh-, and it crossed the Alabama just be- 
low the union of the Coosa nnd Tallapoosa. North of 
this line was then the British province of Illinois. So 
that at the close of the Old French War Illinois and 
Florida bordered on each other. 

The present railroad from Vicksburg to Montgom- 
ery runs near this line. The eastern boundary of 
West Florida was the Chattahoochie, and then, as the 
name changed, the Apalachicola. The western bound- 
ary was the Mississippi; and the southern. Bayou Iber- 
4 



50 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

ville, the connected cliain of lakes including Poncliar- 
train, and the Gulf. The present limits of Clarke, 
therefore, were included in West Florida, and so re- 
mained, in fact, till 1799, although nominally a part of 
the United States alter 1Y82. Pensacola was made the 
seat of government. 

After English control was extended over this prov- 
ince, the Natchez region and the western part of the 
present state of Mississippi attracted many settlers. 
They came from the Atlantic colonies in considerable 
numbers. A small German settlement had been made 
upon the Pascagoola, a river in the south-eastern part of 
Mississippi, The Mississippi river and its eastern tributa- 
ries seemed to be at jSrst the most attractive. From 
the Atlantic colonies, first from Roanoke in ISTorth Car- 
olina, as early as 1764, then from South Carolina, from 
Georgia, from Virginia, and New Jersey, large num- 
bers came, either in boats down the tributary rivers, or 
cutting a pathway through the wilderness, and made 
settlements extending some twenty miles east of the 
rivei'. Scotch Highlanders came from North Carolina 
and settled thirty miles east of Natchez. In 1770, and 
again in 1778, many immigrants came by the way of 
the Ohio river from New Jersey, and Yirginia, and 
Delaware. 

Immigrants also began soon to come from Great 
Britain and the British West Indies. 

In 1767 a colony of French Protestants, in number 
two hundred and nine, made a settlement upon the Es- 
cambia river north of Pensacola, having received 
from King George the Third a large grant of land, and 
having been conveyed across the ocean at the royal ex- 
pense. They built white cottages among the live oak 



SPANISH AND OTHER RESIDENTS. 51 

groves, and erected a cluirch building with one simple, 
village spire. This colony was not long afterward des- 
olated by the yellow fever, that scourge of the tropics. 

It does not appear that in these years many addi- 
tions were made to the settlers on the Mobile and Ten- 
saw rivers. The plantations opened there must, how- 
ever, have been productive, and business enterprise 
was evidently not stagnant, for in 1772 the exports from 
Mobile and Pensacola were, according to Pickett, "in- 
digo, raw-hides, corn, fine cattle, tallow, rice, pitch, 
bear's oil, tobacco, tar, squared timber, indigo seed, 
myrtle wax, cedar-posts and planks, salted wild beef, 
pecan nuts, cypress and pine-boards, plank of various 
woods, shingles, dried salt-fish, scantling, sassafras, 
canes, staves and heading hoops, oranges and peltry." 

The cultivation of cotton had also commenced, and 
some small machines had been invented for separating 
the lint from the seed. The French planters had some 
machines by which, it is said by Captain Barnard 
Roman, in his "Florida," "seventy pounds of clear 
cotton can be made every day." 

Whitney's Cotton Gin was not invented until 1792> 

Pensacola, the capital of the province, contained in 
1771 about one hundred and eighty houses, which were 
built of wood. This, as the seat of government, was to 
become the first place of traflic for the coming settlers 
of Clarke. The French houses of the wealthy in Mo- 
bile were of brick. 

It is now 1775. The Thirteen United Colonies, 
containing a population of about "three millions of 
people," extending from New Hampshire to Georgia, 
are entering upon that great conflict with the Mother 
Country, which is called in history The American Eev- 
olution. 



52 CLAEKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Into this conflict West Florida did not enter. Here 
was, therefore, a secure retreat for those called Royal- 
ists, in the Carolinas and Georgia, who held themselves 
still loyal to the king of Great Britain. The banks of 
that river, then called *Tombeckbee, became attractive 
to this large class of adventurers and refugees. 

The existence of Fort St. Stephens during so many 
years of French occupancy, the friendliness of the 
Choctaw Indians within whose limits these lands lay, 
and thu proximity of the plantations on the Mobile 
river, made this region a natural and favorite resort. 

It seems impossible now to ascertain who were the 
first white settlers in either Washington or Clarke. 

If, as is stated by Meek, the French established a 
trading and military post at St. Stephens, some French 
settlers would be likely to locate on the west and even 
on the east side of the river. And Pickett mentions 
that some French farmers lived upon this river in 1792. 

It is possible also that some of those adventurous and 
enterprising colonists in the Carolinas and in Georgia, 
who having come to a ISTew World, loved to seek the 
most remote wilds, had reached the banks of the Ala- 
bama before the commencement of the colonial struggle 
for independence. But records of these seem to be 
wanting. 

In the year 1TY7 an English botanist, William Bar- 
tram, visited the settled parts of West Florida. He 
found on the Tensaw river many well-cultivated planta- 
tions, on which settlers were then living. His route 
both going and coming seems to have been on the east 

* I fiud in earlier aud later writings the name of this river written Tombeckbee, 
Tumbeclibee, Tombikbee, Tombeckbe, Tombeckby, Tombickby, Tonibigby, Tom- 
bigbee. I prefer for its earlier name the orthography Tombeckbee, and for its 
present name Tombigbee. 



SPANISH AND OTHER RESIDENTS. 53 

side of the Alabama. From him, therefore, nothing is 
h!arned concerninii; settlers on the west side. When 
near the northern boundary of the province and still be- 
side the river, his party met with some Georgians — a 
man and his wife, some young children, one young 
woman and three young men, packing their goods on a 
dozen horses — who were on their way intending to set- 
tle upon the Alabama river, a few miles above its union 
with the Tombeckbee. And these "are believed" 
says Pickett, ' ' to have been among the first Anglo-Amer- 
icans who settled in the present Baldwin county." 
That some such settlers had already reached the Tom- 
beckbee is quite certain, so that we may safely place 
the commencement of what became permanent Ameri- 
can settlement as early as the year 1777. 

Meek says: "As early as the Revolution, large 
bodies of unfortunate adherents of the British cause 
had fled from South Carolina and Georgia, through the 
dense and pithless forests between, to the shores of the 
Tombeckbee and Mobile Bay. They laid the first 
foundations of American inhabitancy in the counties of 
Clarke, Washington and Baldwin." It is poetic to call 
these mighty forests " pathless ;" but we should re- 
member that from Carolina and Georgia traders had 
been coming for many years to all these Indian tribes. 
As early as 1735 hundreds of pack-horses brought out 
from Charleston to the Chattahoochie and westward, 
merchandise for the Indians ; and in 1745 Lachlan Mc- 
Gillivray married the beautiful Creek Indian girl, 
Sehoy Marchand, and settled with her and established 
a trading house on the Coosa, four miles above where 
now stands Wetumpka. And Bartram, the botanist, 
found in 1777 the road from Tensaw, near the present 



54 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Stockton, up to the Tallapoosa, narrow, but "well 
beaten." Wagon roads were not ; but trails for pack- 
horses were, before the Revolutionary War, well trod- 
den through all those mighty forests. Before, however, 
many settlers of any class had trodden Indian trails and 
reached the Tombeckbee, West Florida changed rulers. 
The Spaniards captured the forts and took possession 
in 1Y80, except of Pensacola, which they took early in 
1781, and in 1783, in January, Great Britain confirmed 
to Spain, by treaty, all the province of East Florida. 
But Great Britain had previously, in the preliminary 
Treaty of Paris, in 1782, acknowledged the independ- 
ence of the United States, and recognized the Southern 
boundary to be the line of 31° north latitude, from the 
Mississippi river to the Ohattahoochie, down the Chat- 
tahoochie to the mouth of the Flint, from that point 
east to the St. Mary's river, and down that river to the 
sea. A conflict of claims of course arose. Spain 
claimed by conquest and treaty, and held by possessitm, 
as far north as 32° 28', or all the former British prov- 
ince of West Florida. Thus at the close of the War of 
the Revolution, when there was existing in the Caroli- 
nas and Georgia so much ill-feeling toward the royal- 
ists, to whom the Whigs, so called, attributed very 
much of their suffering, these distant Tombeckbee set- 
tlements, under Spanish rule, afforded still to the roy- 
alists a secure retreat. Many, therefore, came and 
settled upon Spanish grants, or opened plantations 
along the river under Spanish rule. 

The following names of some of these early settlers 
have been rescued from oblivion : Below Mcintosh's 
Bluff, Bates, Lawrence, Powell ; above, on the river, 
Danley, Wheat, Johnson, McGrew, Hacket, Freeland, 



SPANISH AND OTHEK RESIDENTS. 55 

Talley and Baker. These were found as settlers in 
1791 by a small company of new settlers, whose names 
were, Thomas Kimbil, John Barnett, Robert Sheffield, 
Barton Hannon, and three young men, brothers, by the 
name of Mounger. They arrived by way of Tensaw 
Lake, where they found residing families named Hall, 
Byrne, Minis, Killcreas, Steadham, Easlie and *Linder. 
The new settlers with their horses had crossed the 
creeks and the two rivers upon rafts. The horses had 
brought upon their backs some plows and axes. They 
found St. Stephens garrisoned by one Spanish company, 
under the command of Captain Fernando Lisora. The 
Choctaws called St. Stephens Hobuckintopa. At this time 
the commandant's residence, the Catholic church and the 
block-house, were good " frame-work "buildings, made 
tight with " clay and plaster." Cypress bark covered 
the other houses, some of which were large. Some 
French farmers, then living on the rivers, dwelt in clay 
huts, while the Americans built pole-cabins. 

The chief industry here seems to have been raising 
indigo, then worth two dollars and a half a pound. f 
Further down the river the Spaniards made quite a busi- 
ness of burning pine to collect tar. 

On Little River, at this time, were living " many in- 
telligent and wealthy people," who were of mixed 
blood, Indian and white ; who for some years had been 
raising large herds of cattle. Of the settlers now 

* Captain John Linder was a native of Switzerland, had been in Charleston as 
a British surveyor, and was aided by General McGillivray to settle with his fam- 
ily and a large number of colored servants at the Tensaw lake during the War of 
the Revolution. Part of the settlers at this time were royalists and part were 
Whigs. 

t After the " Yazoo freshet," in 1791, so complete was the destruction caused 
by that overthrow, that the Spaniards abandoned, to a great extent, their indigo 
And rice plantations. 



56 CLAEKE AISTD ITS SUEROUNDINGS, 

named near St. Stephens the Wheat and Mounger fam- 
ilies are considered by some now living to have been 
the first Whig families that settled among the Royal- 
ists. It is probable, however, that there were at this 
time other settlers loyal to the new United States, 
although then ont of its jurisdiction. 

Nathan Blackwell, from IS^orth Carolina, came, it 
is said in the traditions of Clarke, in 1Y90, a pioneer 
among Indians and Spaniards. Members of this fam- 
ily are yet residing in the southern part of the county, 
grandchildren, probably, and great-grandchildren of 
this early pioneer. The many interesting events in the 
life of Katlian Blackwell, and the time and place of his 
death are to the author unknown. 

HiRA]\r Mounger coming in 1Y91, bought a Spanish 
grant, including a part of the Sun Flower Bend, one 
of the three grants now known as having been situated 
on the east side of the river. He died about 1867, and 
his wife died a few years ago between ninety and one 
hundred years of age. 

To the family names recorded here may be added 
that of Denby, a brother-in-law of Mounger, and Peter 
Beach. 

All these settlements were around rather than with- 
in the twelve hundred miles of territory, within which 
stood the old Maubila, But few if any of the pio- 
neers destined to occupy those creek bottoms, and 
broad plateaus, and fertile hill sides, had as ye^ ar- 
rived. This soil was never occupied by an American 
colony, it was not yet an acknowledged part of the new 
United States, although its southern limit was thirteen 
miles north of latitude 31° ; and those who were to 
take possession as American citizens were then, for the 



SPAI^ISH AND OTHER RESIDENTS. 57 

most part, boys and girls in Virginia and Kentucky, in 
the Carolinas and Georgia, acquiring tlie strength of 
muscle, and the qualities of mind and heart which 
would fit them for their future work. 

Of the actual life of the settlers here during these 
Spanish times few memorials can be found. Laws were 
few, restraints were only self-imposed, or such as neces- 
sity and self-preservation laid upon them, and they, no 
doubt, enjoyed the wild freedom of the rivers and the 
woods. A characteristic feature of this whole region 
was the residence in every Indian town of any size of a 
white trader. During these hundred years the eigh- 
teenth century drawing, at this date of 1792, near its 
close, all these Indian tribes of the South-East had be- 
come familiar with the white men. The sight of white 
women and children was more rare. But these traders 
had penetrated all the wilds, and occupied very many 
fine locations for inland commerce and for intrigues 
among the tribes. Many of these traders became 
wealthy; but it has been observed that "all property 
acquired in a commerce with Indians" generally leaves 
the owners in old age. One of these traders, an 
Englishman named Clarke, who called his Indian wife 
Queen Anne, used seventy pack-horses to transport his 
goods and furs. The common pack-horses used were 
small but hardy, and were accustomed to carry on their 
peculiar pack-saddles, three bundles of sixty pounds 
weight each. Two bundles were swung across the sad- 
dle so that one was on each side of the horse, and the 
third bundle was placed upon tlie saddle. Over the 
whole was thrown a covering of hide or fur to protect 
from the rain. Poultry was carried in a similar man- 
ner, and also liquids, on the backs or sides of these 



58 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

ponies. On the routes of travel one pack-driver liad 
charge of ten ponies. About twenty-five miles each 
day was the average rate of travel. The ponies at 
night gained their own subsistence from the grass and 
cane. A well-beaten trail led up from Pensacola, with 
many smaller diverging pathways to the Tennessee 
river. ISTashville, on the Cumberland, was then the 
southern limit of white settlement. But from the Wa- 
bash river, far north, Yincennes having become a 
trading-post as early as 1Y02, French traders had for 
years, previous to 1780, carried on an extensive trafiic 
with the Indians near the present towns of Tuscumbia 
and Florence. Southern and Western forests during 
the eighteenth century were anything but pathless. 

The presence of these white traders throughout all 
this southern Indian country had its influence on the 
Indians as well as on the white settlements, so soon as 
these settlements were made. 

A noted descendant of one of these traders having 
spent most of the winter in the settlement on Little 
River went to Pensacola, and there died in February 
1793, the year when commenced in France those terri- 
ble times known as the Reign of Terror."^ This was 
Alexander McGillivray, son of that Scotchman already 
named, who in 1745, so near as is now known, Meek 
says 1740, married Sehoy Marchand. The father of 
this Creek maiden was Captain Marchand, a French- 
man who was at one time commandant at Ft. Toulouse 
and was killed there in 1722. The mother of Miss 
Marchand, the grandmotlier of Alexander, was a Mus- 

* Such were the commotions of this year among Indians, Americans, Span- 
ish, and even among French emissaries in the South-East, that Picliett says : 
" It appeared tliat the evil one himself was stalking through this wild region." 



SPANISH AND OTHER RESIDENTS. 59 

cogee, or Creek, of full blood, of the tribe of the Wind, 
the most powerful tribe of the Creek nation. Alexan- 
der and his sisters were, therefore, of Indian, Frencli, 
and Scotch blood united. One of his distinguished 
nephews was William Weatherford, whose bloody deeds 
will be long remembered. Alexander was educated at 
Charleston, acquiring a knowledge of Greek, Latin, and 
of Polite Literature. He delighted in boyhood to read 
the histories of European nations. He returned to the 
Indian wilds, took control of the Creek nation, was an 
ally of the British during the Revolutionary War, re- 
ceiving from them the rank and pay of a British colonel. 
After that war, in 1784, he went to Pensacola, and as 
Emperor of the Creeks and Seminoles, made a treaty 
with Spain. In 1790 he visited President Washington 
at New York, made a treaty there, was appointed 
Agent of the United States, and received the rank of 
Brigadier General, with twelve hundred dollars a year 
salary. Afterward a Spanish Monarch appointed him 
Superintendent General of the Creek nation, with a 
salarj^ of two thousand dollars a year, adding to this in 
July 1792, fifteen hundred more. He was thus agent 
for Spain with a salary of thirty -five hundred dollars, 
for the United States with a salary of twelve hundred, 
a member of a wealthy commercial house, and Emperor, 
so called, of the Creeks and Seminoles. Pickett, who 
studied his character closely, considers him the great- 
est diplomatist, and possessing the most marked ability 
of any man born or reared on Alabama soil. He was 
buried in the grounds of William Panton, in Pensacola, 
with masonic honors, and the Indians deeply lamented 
his death, feeling that they had truly lost a great chief- 
tain. 



60 CLAEKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Benjamin Durant, of Huguenot descent, from South 
Carolina, had married the beautiful and talented Sophia 
McGillivray, a sister of Alexander McGillivray, and 
had cultivated Durant' s Bt,'nd on the Alabama as early 
as 1786 ; and Mrs. Sophia Durant appears to have been 
living on Little River in 1790, when, by her authority 
and resolution, she saved the Tensaw settlements from 
a threatened massacre by the Creeks. Her son, Lach- 
lan Durant, was in 1851 a well-known resident of Bald- 
win county. ■ Lachlan McGillivray, the fatlier of Mrs. 
Durant, who had married Sehoy Marchand ; who as a 
Scotch boy of sixteen, had left a wealthy home in Scot- 
land to see the wonders of American wilds ; who had 
landed in Carolina with a single shilling in his pocket ; 
who had joined the Indian traders, and on the Chatta- 
hoochie, about 1735, made his first trade, exchanging a 
jack-knife for some deer-skins ; who saw for tho first 
time the young Sehoy, when she was sixteen years of 
age, "cheerful in countenance, bewitching in looks, and 
graceful in form ;" spent as Indian trader and Georgia 
royalist nearly half a century in these wilds of America, 
which had so excited the imagination of his youth ; 
then leaving his Indian children, his plantations, and 
his colored servants, he embarked with the British when 
they left Savannah, probably in 1782, and sailed for his 
native land. Before embarking he had "scraped to- 
gether a vast amount of money and movable effects." 
He was still living at Dunmaglass, Scotland, in 1794, 
when a letter was sent to him announcing the death of 
his son Alexander, and asking his care for a grandson 
and two granddaughters. 

Still another of these white traders may be here 
named, whose noted son became closely connected with 



SPANISH AND OTHER RESIDENTS. 61 

scenes of strife and blooclslied, as the white settlements 
advanced. This trader was Charles Weatherford, also 
a Scotchman, who married a half-sister of General Mc- 
Gillivray, the daughter of a chief, and of pure Indian 
blood, who in 1778 had been married to Colonel Tait, a 
British officer at Fort Toulouse. 

Ti;e ])rincipal residence of General McGillivray was 
near the mouth of the Coosa, but his brothers-in-law 
ha'l their plantations and various homes along the 
Alabama river, as far as to its union with the Tombeck- 
bee. At one of these residences on the east bank was 
born, about 1780, William Weatherford, whom the set- 
tlers in after years had cause to remember. Other 
white traders had more or less influence upon the sur- 
roundings of Clarke. 

Other noted frontier or border men, men of bad re- 
nown some of them, were along the Alabama or its 
tributaries. 

On Little River, as already stated, wealthy and in- 
telligent families of mixed blood resided, who kept 
large herds of cattle where the frost never killed the 
grass or cane. Farther north, near the Alabama, lived 
in 1Y90 and earlier, "Milly," a white woman who had 
fled into the wilds with her husband, a soldier deserting 
a British regiment. After his death she married an 
Indian, and kept cattle and ponies. Wear her lived 
William Gregory', a white man with an Indian family, 
who kept cattle and horses, and who has left the repu- 
tation of having been where there was no law around 
him, a kind-hearted, generous, upright man. Abram 
Mordecai and James Russell, traders, had their head- 
quarters not far away ; and on the Tallapoosa was " Sa- 
vannah Jack,-' called "the most blood-thirsty, fiendish, 
and cruel white man that ever inhabited any country." 



62 CLARKE ATs^D ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

A yet more noted resident for a season upon the 
Tallapoosa was William Angustus Bowles, a Maryland 
boy, who, as a young tory, entered the British army as 
a soldier, fought for a year against the Americans, 
sailed to Jamaica as an ensign in 1777, came to Pensa- 
cola, flung his uniform into the sea, and in company 
with Creek Indians left for the wilds. For several years 
he remained by the Tallapoosa, and learned very 
thorouo'hlv the Muscogee languao-e. He married a 
chief's daughter. 

"His elegant and commanding form, tine address, 
beautiful countenance of varied expression, his exalted 
genius, daring, and intrepidity, all connected with a 
mind wholly debased and unprincipled, eminently tit- 
ted him to sway the bad Indians and worse traders 
among whom he lived." 

In 1781, with Creek warriors he aided General 
Campbell to defend Pensacola. He went next to Xew 
York, joined a company of comedians, and sailed ta 
the Bahamas. There he acted comedy and painted 
portraits. The governor of the islands, Lord Dun- 
more, selected him as an agent to establish a commer- 
cial house on the Chattahoochie in opposition to the 
interests of William Panton, of Pensacola, and Alex- 
ander McGillivray. Bowles was soon at work among 
the Lower Creeks. 

But Milfort, the war chief, the French general, was 
sent to the Chattahoochie with a stern order for Bowles 
to leave the nation in twenty-four hours. He returned 
to the Bahamas, was sent by the governor with some 
Creek and Cherokee Indians to England, received val- 
uable presents from the British court, returned to the 
Bahamas and became a pirate, having taught his Creek 



SPANISH AND OTHER RESIDENTS. 63 

dependents to navigate th« Gulf, preying especially 
upon the vessels of "William Panton. His piratical 
success, having had with him " an abandoned set of 
white men from the prisons of London, together with 
hosts of savages," increased his popularity among the 
Creeks. He endeavored now, advancing into the heart 
of the nation, to destroy the power of McGillivray. 
The latter withdrew to I^ew Orleans, and Bowles de- 
clared that he would never again show himself upon 
the Coosa. But the Scotch-Indian was too shrewd for 
the Maryland tory boy, and he soon arranged at New 
Orleans for the capture of Bowles, who was brought to 
New Orleans in chains and sent to Madrid, in Spain, as 
a captured pirate. This was in 1792. From Spain he 
was transported to the island Manilla, in the Pacific 
ocean. 

In February, 1797, he was ordered back to Spain, 
but escaped at Ascension Island on the way, reached 
Sierra Leone, returned to London, sailed again to the 
Gulf in a schooner, and became again a pirate, and 
was wrecked on Fox Point in Septeinber, 1799. He 
advanced once more into the Creek nation, declared his 
hostility to both Spain and the United States. He com- 
menced depredations, and both American and Spanish 
authorities determined to remove him from the Creek 
country. A large reward was secretly offered for his 
capture. A great feast was j)repared on the Coosa 
river, to which he was invited. At this feast he was 
suddenly seized, pinioned, placed in a canoe sur- 
rounded by armed warriors, and conveyed down the 
river. Stopping on the shore over night, while his 
guard slept he gnawed the ropes from his arms and es- 
caped. But Indians were on his track. His trail was 



64 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

found, and before many hours lie was again then- 
prisoner. He was taken down the Alabama to Mobile, 
was sent to Havana, and died in a few years in the 
dungeon of Moro Castle. Thus ended his wild and 
varied career. 

In 1Y97 a ferry was established by Samuel Minis 
across the Alabama, and one by HoUinger, an old resi- 
dent among the Indians, across the Tombeckbee. The 
route of travel crossed the Ishind called Nannahubba, 
below the cut-oif. 

But a change for the settlers ' under Spanish rule 
was near at hand. Arrangements were made by 
the United States Government to have the line 
of latitude 31° established. 

In 1Y98, March 29th, the Spaniards evacuated their 
fort on the Mississippi, and Colonel Andrew Elliott, one 
of the commissioners to mark this boundary line be- 
tween Spanish and United States territory, marched 
his troops and corps of wood-men and surveyoi-s to a 
dense swamp on the cast of the Mississippi, where it 
was ascertained that the line left the river. He was soon 
joined by Major Minor and Sir William Dunbar, Span- 
ish commissioners. Sj)ain also furnished troops. The 
advance along the line resembled the movement of an 
army. The trees were blazed along the line, and 
mounds of earth thrown up at the end of each mile. 
This line struck the Mobile river "six miles" Pickett 
says, ten miles it now appears to be, below the union 
of the two rivers. It was now April 1799. The sur- 
veyors overcame the difficulties in crossing the rivers 
and swamps, and passed beyond the Tensaw. Passing 
through the Creek lands the party met with obstacles 
and opposition from the Indians, and also from the 



SPANISH AND OTHER KESIDENTS. 65 

Spaniards. They marked the line only as far as the 
Chattahoochie, but the surveyors passed across to the 
St. Mary's, and in February of 1800 established the 
point on that river of the line of 31° in the presence of 
Colonel Elliott and Major Minor. This spot was 
marked by a large earth mound. The United States 
had now, after the death of Washington, early in 1800, 
a recognized southern boundary line. 



In presenting the fact that this special region has 
been under the control of France, of Great Britain, 
and of Spain, a flowery writer says: "The flag of the 
silver lilies, and the banner of old Spain, once the 
most famous, long floated here, the symbols of sover- 
eignty, chivalry, and the faith of Christ." Also: 
"The blood-red cross of St. George, which for a thou- 
sand years has never been disgraced, once stood here, 
the representative of dominion and civilization." 

But with his characteristic indomitable spirit the 
Anglo-Saxon- American was now, in 1800, beginning to 
take full possession. 



The Mississippi Scheme of France, begun in 1716, 
closed in 1723. "Of all the wild speculations which 
have first duped and then ruined men, this ranks 
among the foremost." There had been, about a hun- 
dred years before, a remarkable fever of speculation in 
Holland, known as the Tulip Mania. " It began about 
the year 1634, and, like a violent epidemic, it seized 
upon all classes of the community." "In the year 
1636 Tulip Marts had been established at Amsterdam, 
at Rotterdam, Haarlem, Leyden, and other towns in 
Holland." "Nobles, citizens, farmers, mechanics, 



66 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

seamen, footmen, maid-servants, even chimney-sweeps 
— all caught the fever for tulips and gold." "The 
learned and the ignorant, the cautious and the eager, 
men of all classes and all temperaments were infected ; it 
seemed as if the commerce of the world were hence- 
forth to run in one exclusive channel — the sale and 
the purchase of tulips." A few tulips brought at the 
height of the speculation 100,000 Dutch florins. When 
the bubble burst, "every town in Holland felt the 
blow." "Tlie trade of Holland was prostrated for a 
time, and some of its merchant princes never recovered 
from the shock." 

A similar spirit of speculation and passion for gold, 
pervading all classes and leading to like disastrous 
results, swept over England, known as the South Sea 
Bubble. The stock of the first company was sold at a 
premium of 1000 per cent. "The original South Sea 
Scheme branched out into eighty-seven cognate specu- 
lations, each of which was eventually a fountain of 
misery to multitudes." 

It is said of Law, tlie originator of this Mississippi 
Scheme, "He first ruined a young English lady and 
then slew her brother in a duel, for which he was 
obliged to flee from his native county, Amsterdam, 
Yenice, and Genoa, became in succession his asylum. 
From each of these, however, he was banished as a 
dangerous adventurer, and after fourteen years of 
friendless wandering," he reached Paris and secured 
the favor of the Duke of Orleans, Regent of France, 
about 1T16.- Such was the man who became connected 
with a Paris speculation which gave such notoriety to 
the Mississippi colon}^ and name. Fifty thousand 
shares at flrst were issued in this wild scheme, and for 
these there were about three hundred thousand appli- 
cants. Three hundred thousand additional shares were 
then issued by the authority of the Regent. It is said 
that "for a time even the gayeties of Paris were sus- 
pended ; and all the energies, the earnestness, and 
ardor of its people, were turned into one absorbing 



SPANISH AND OTHER RESIDENTS. 67 

channel — the passion for goki lying buried, they be- 
lieved, in the lands around the mouth of the Missis- 
sippi." 

Property suddenly rose to twelve and even iifteen 
times its former value. Multitudes supposed them- 
selves to have become suddenly ricii. Alliances with 
the titled nobility were purchased. But when this 
bubble also burst, as all such must, "to all the golden 
visions of France, there succeeded a period of confu- 
sion, of bankruptcies, of beggary and ruin, deep and 
piteous in proportion as the excitement had been high." 
But for all this Mississippi was not to blame, nor the 
French colonists, nor the mighty river that all unheed- 
ing swept on into the Gulf. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE MISSISSIPPI TERRITORY.— 1798-1812. 

IN the spring of 1798 the Congress of the United 
States formed into a territory a part of what had 
been "West Florida. By an act passed the seventh of 
April the new division which was called Mississippi 
Territory, was bounded thus : On the west by the 
Mississippi river, on the north by a line drawn due 
east from the mouth of the Yazoo to the Chatahoochie,* 
and on the south by the thirty-tirst degree of north 
latitude. By a supplementary act in ISOl, there was 
annexed to this Territory all the ''tract of country" 
south of the State of Tennessee bounded on the east by 
the state of Georgia and on the west by Louisiana. 

Tennessee had been admitted as a state in 1796. This 
territory was said in 1815 to be from east to west, from 
the Chatahoochie to the Mississippi, about three 
hundred and twenty miles. From north to south it 
was said to be two hundred and seventy-eight miles. 
Said a geography of that day, ' ' The greater part of this 
extensive region is still the property of the Creek, 
Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Cherokee Indians, two other 
potent tribes, the Yazoos and Natchez, having been 
destroyed by wars, or having retired further into the 
western forests." 

On the second of April, 1799, Winthrop Sargent, the 
appointed governor of the new Territory, issued a procla- 

* Also written Chatahooche, Chatahoochee, and Chattahoochee. Apalachicola 
is also written Appalachicola. (Page 49.) 



THE MISSISSIPPI TERRITORY. 69 

mation dividing the Territory into two counties, the 
northern to be called Adams and the southern Pick- 
ering. 

In 1T99, the fifth of May, Lieutenant McLeary took 
possession of Fort St. Stephens, the Spanish garrison 
marching out and descending the river below the 
recently surveyed line of latitude 31''. In July of this 
year Fort Stoddart was established, about six miles 
above the Spanish boundary and three miles below the 
commencement of Mobile river. A stockade was here 
built with one bastion. 

At length, then, in the year 1799, the second year of 
that fearful Heign of Terror in France, the year in 
which ]^apoleon Bonaparte became first Consul, this 
region which for so many years France had claimed 
■and held, became a part of the United States. 

Among those inhabitants on Lake Tensaw, at the 
Boat Yard, two brothers John and William Pierce from 
]^ew England, had during the Spanish times made 
their home. William followed weaving, which was in 
those days very profitable. John Pierce opened a 
school, "the first American school in Alabama," so 
near as is known in 1799. Says Pickett: "There the 
high-blood descendants of Lachlon McGillivray — the 
Taits, Weatherfords, and Durants, the aristocratic 
Linders, the wealthy Mims's, and the children of many 
others, first learned to read. The pupils were strangely 
mixed in blood, and their color was of every hue." 

And now we reach the year 1800. The JSTineteenth 
Century was about to open, that centurj- to be in human 
progress, so eventful over all the civilized and all the 
savage world ; that century which was to be crowded 
with inventions ; and which was to see explorers, trav- 



70 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

ellers, missionaries, seeking the nortliern pole, crossing 
the deepest recesses of Africa, carrying the teachings 
of Christianity into India's jungles, among the fiercest 
cannibals of the South Sea, and opening all China and 
all Japan, 

The American was beginning to place himself not only 
abreast of all the world, but in the lead, for all useful 
inventions and for daring enterprise and indomitable 
will. And over the belt of long-leaved pines a new era 
also dawns. 

WASHINGTON COUNTY. 

Governor Sargent on the fourth of June calls into 
existence by proclamation the county of Washington. 
It having appeared to the Governor " that the divisions 
already made, cannot extend to the inhabitants upon 
the Tombeckbee and other eastern settlements, equal 
administration of justice." This was probably the 
largest county, those of Adams and Pickering excepted, 
that had then been called into existence by executive or 
legislative power.* Its boundaries were the same as 
those of the Territory on the north, east, and south, or 
latitude 32° 28', the Chattahoochie, and the thirty-first 
parallel ; and the Pearl river on the west. Most of 
that vast region was then occupied by Indian tribes, 
over which tribes the Government had no control. The 
two settlements of whites in this new county were 
upon land which the Indian occupants had formerly 

*Ia 1777 the colony of North Caroliun, then under the declaration of inde- 
pendence chiiming to be a state, had set off into a county, also called Washing- 
ton, that region which afterward became the State of Tennessee. The area of 
this was 45,600 square miles. Washington county was at first three hundred 
miles long, and eighty-eight miles wid<',, having an area of 26,400 square miles. 
Clarke county in Oregon was at first very large, and then' is now a large county in 
Colorado. 



THE MISSISSIPPI TERRITOKY. 71 

ceded to the Britisli or Spanish autliorities and which 
belonged therefore now to the United States. These 
settlements were, according to the "American State 
Papers," as quoted by Meek, "thinly scattered along 
the western banks of the Mobile and Tombigby, for 
more than seventy miles, and extending nearly seventy- 
five miles upon the eastern borders of the Mobile and 
Alabama." As yet these inhabitants were living 
without any civil government actually over them. 
They liad.no magistrates, no ministers, and no mar- 
riage ceremonies. The young people had been ac- 
customed for years to ])air off and live together as 
husbands and wives promising to be regularly mar- 
ried when they had an opportunity. An instance is 
recorded of one couple who observed a little more form 
than the others. It was Christmas night of 1800. 
Daniel Johnson and Miss Elizabeth Linder, at Lake 
Tensaw, were acknowledged lovers. He was poor and 
she an heiress ; so her parents objected, even in those 
wilds, to the "pairing." A large party were that 
night assembled at the house of Samuel Minis, and 
among these were the two lovers, enjoying the music, 
the dance, the festivities. During the evening a few 
young people, Johnson and Miss Linder among them, 
secretly left the house, embarked on board of some 
canoes, paddled down the lake and down the Alabama, 
and arrived at Fort Stoddart an hour before the dawn 
of day. Captain Shauinburg, a merry hearted Ger- 
man, in command of the fort was called upon to per- 
form the marriage ceremony. In vain he declared his 
ignorance of such ceremonies, and his want of authority. 
He was told that he was placed there by the Federal 
Government to protect the people and regulate their 



72 OLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

aftairs, and tliat this little affair needed his sanction. 
At length the captain yielded to their solicitations, and 
having the two lovers placed before him proclaimed : 
"I Captain Shaumburg, of the 2d regiment of the 
United States army, and commandant of Fort Stoddart, 
do hereby pronounce you man and wife. Go home ! 
behave yourselves ; multiply, and replenish the Ten- 
saw country ! " They reentered their canoes, returned 
to the Tensaw Boat Yard, and the whole settlement 
pronounced them to be "the hest married people they 
had known in a long time." Justices of the peace 
soon came, and courts and judges, and also in a few 
years ministers of the Gospel. 

In 1801 when the new century had fully commenced, 
the entire population of these river settlements was esti- 
mated to be iive hundred whites and two hundred and 
fifty colored. 

In 1802 a treaty was made with the Choctaws, by 
which a tract of land was acquired, extending some dis- 
tance north from St. Stephens. The Choctaws claimed 
east of the Tombeckbee to the water-shed or dividing 
ridge. The Creeks did not acknowledge their rights, 
and at the treaty in 1802 one of their chiefs, the Mad 
Wolf, is reported to have said, "the people of Tom- 
bigby have put over their cattle in the fork, on the Ala- 
bama hunting grounds, and have gone a great way on 
our lands. I want them put back. We all know they 
are Americans." 

From this speech it is evident that at this time there 
were whites occupying lands east of the Tombeckbee. 

In the same year a trading house was established at 
St. Stephens, designed especially for the Choctaw In- 
dians. This establishment was called a factory. Joseph 



THE MISSISSIPPI TERRITORY. 73 

Chambers was appointed Superintendent and Thomas 
H. Williams, both from North Carolina, Assistant. The 
latter became afterward Secretary of the Territory, Col- 
lector of the port of Xew Orleans, and United States 
Senator from Mississippi. George S. Gaines of Vir- 
ginia, then residing in Tennessee, was afterward ap- 
pointed Assistant, and came to St. Stephens in the 
spring of 1S05. 

At tliat time "the parsonage of the old Spanish 
church was used as a skin-house," the block house be- 
ing used for a government store room. In 1807 Gaines 
became what was called "principal factor," having an 
assistant, a "skin-man" or fur and hide tender, and 
an interpreter. This tender of furs and hides examined 
them carefully during the summer, sorted them, and 
in the fall packed them in bales for shipment to Phil- 
adelphia. The articles brought for sale or exchange 
by the Choctaws, were furs and peltries of various 
kinds, bears' oil, honey, beeswax, bacon, tobacco, and 
ground peas. These in 1809 amounted in value to 
more than seven thousand dollars. To avoid the pay- 
ment of Spanish duties at Mobile the Government ar- 
ranged a line for conveying goods to this ware-house 
and trading post down the Ohio river, up the Tennes- 
see to a point called Colbert's Ferry, then by pack 
horses along a horse path through the Chickasaws, to 
Peachland's, upon the Tombeckbee, then by boats to 
St. Stephens. 

In 1802, also, the first cotton gin, in the region now 
Alabama, was erected by Lyons and Bennett of Georgia, 
for Abram Mordecai, a Jew and an Indian trader, at 
Weathcrford's race track on the Alabama river. The 
materials for the work, tools and machinery, were 



74 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

brought from Georgia on pack horses. Cotton from 
this gin was taken in the same summer to Augusta, 
Georgia. This Mordecai carried on a large trade with 
the Indians, sending to Mobile and to ISTew Orleans his 
furs and hickory nut oil in boats, and transporting 
goods to and from Pensacola and Augusta on pack 
horses. His gin house was afterward burned by the 
Indians in consequence of intrigues in which he be- 
came involved with a handsome married squaw. 

In the sarne year, 1802, in October the Pierce broth- 
ers established a gin at the Boat Yard, the second gin, 
it would appear, erected in this region. They then 
commenced merchandising. Business, then, as con- 
ducted by Americans, dates for Clarke and its sur- 
roundings, from 1802. This Boat Yard gin was built 
by the same contractors, Lyons and Barnett, who also 
built one at Mcintosh's Bluff on the Tombeckbee, the 
third cotton gin for these river settlements. 

JSTow other and permanent American settlers begin 
to arrive and locate themselves between the rivers. 
These early permanent settlers came from Georgia, col- 
onized in 1733, from the Carolinas, colonized between 
1640 and 1670, from Virginia, the first English settle- 
ment commenced in 1607, from Kentucky, settled by 
six families led by Daniel Boone in 1773, and joined 
by forty others from Powell's Yalley, who constituted 
all the white settlers of Kentucky in 1773, and from 
Tennessee, where temporary settlements were made in 
1765, but the important and permanent ones not until 
1774. 

These Tennessee settlers had lived independent of 
North Carolina or the United Colonies till 1788, when 



THE MISSISSIPPI TERRITORY. 75 

their country was ceded to Congress [and they became 
a part of the state of North Carolina. 

Americans, so soon as they began to be American 
citizens, manifested that roving, restless nature, which 
makes them probably the most migratory of all the 
great and enlightened nations. Scarcely, it would seem, 
were the fruits of cultivation beginning to be enjoyed, 
in these certainly new states, before many enterprising, 
brave, and daring pioneers are ready to enter upon 
what was then the last acquired territory of the Union. 

A North Carolina party left their homes on the At- 
lantic slope in December of 1801. Their names have 
been thus recorded : Thomas Malone and family, James 
More, Goodway Myrick, George Nosworthy, Robert 
Caller, and William Murrell. With them were sixty 
colored people. They crossed the Blue Ridge, and 
came to the Tennessee. At Knoxville they made flat- 
boats and reached the head of the Muscle Shoals by 
floating with the current. Packing their household 
goods on their horses which had come down the river 
on land, they started for the " Bigby settlements." 
They reached the Cotton Gin, a short distance above 
the present town of Aberdeen. They embarked in 
some long canoes, were wrecked, lost their goods, their 
tools, their guns, all their efl"ects, except the clothes 
upon their persons ; and one white child and twenty- 
one colored people were drowned. But again they 
pressed on ; and after a journey, from North Carolina, 
of one hundred and twenty days, saved from starvation 
by their faithful hunting dogs, these dogs procuring for 
them rabbits, raccoons, and opossums, they reached 
their destination. 

The first named of this party of settlers, Thomas 



76. CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Malone, was then a voung man, liad been a clerk in the 
hind office at Kaleigh, and became afterward clerk of 
the court of Washington county. His name will appear 
again in this narrative of events. 

Mention has already been made of the conflict of 
claims between Spain and the United States concerning 
a part of West Florida. To a part of »this domain and 
also of otlier territory there had been another claimant. 
The state of Georgia, under a Charter granted by 
Charles II, king of England, claimed all the territory 
between the Savannah and the Mississippi i-ivers from 
latitude 31° as far north as latitude 35"". In 1789 the 
General Assembly of Georgia authorized a sale of large 
tracts of this land to three companies, called the South 
Carolina Yazoo Company, the Virginia Yazoo Com- 
pany, and the Tennessee Company. President Wash- 
ington issued a proclamation against this action of the 
General Assembly. The companies failed to meet their 
payments, and the act was at length rescinded. Again 
in 1795 the Georgia Legislature passed a Yazoo Bill 
and sold in accordance with its provisions large tracts 
of land to tour companies, called the Georgia Com- 
pany, the Mississippi Company, the Upper Mississippi 
Company, and the Tennessee Company. Twenty-one 
and a half millions of acres were thus disposed of for 
one-half million of dollars. The General Government 
and also many of the citizens of Georgia, opposed this 
sale ; and the next Legislature repealed the sale, de- 
claring it to be *' null and void." Many had however 
already removed to the Tombeckbe river, and thus the 
Yazoo speculation, as it is sometimes called, the Yazoo 
fraud, as others in their opposition to the measure 
termed it, became a benetit to the region. 



THE MISSISSIPPI TKPPITORV. 77 

Says Pickett: "It contributed to tlirow into that 
wild region a population of Georgians, whose activity, 
ability, and enterprise, better fitted them to seize, oc- 
cupy, and bring into cultivation a wilderness, mark out 
towns, people them, build female academies, erect 
churches, and hold courts, than any other people." 
Pickett was himself born in Xorth Carolina, yet he 
seems to have some partiality for the citizens of 
Georgia. Through these conflicting claims to large 
tracts of lands there were settlers found in the Missis- 
sippi Territory holding small tracts of land under not 
only English and Spanish, but also under Georgia 
grants. Congress therefore in 1803. established regu- 
lations in regard to these various grants, having pur- 
chased the claim of Georgia for one and a quarter mill- 
ion of dollars. (In this same year Congress bought 
from France, Napoleon Bonaparte being then at the 
head of that government, the large territory of Louis- 
iana, which in the year 1800 had been ceded by Spain 
to France. The price paid for Louisiana was fifteen 
million of dollars.) Joseph Chambers, Epham Kirby, 
and Eobert C. Xicholas, were constituted a board of 
commissioners at St. Stephens, in February 1804, to 
investigate these claims. Their district extended as far 
westward as the Pearl river. They closed their ex- 
aminations in December 1805, having recorded two 
hundred and seventy-six claims. These claims were 
ratified by the 'President of the United States. The 
General Government allowed to those who were living 
on public lands at the time the line of 31° was estab- | 
lislied one section of land, and to those settlers who /' 
came just before the board of commissioners had been ,' 
appointed, one quarter section each of land. I 



78 CLAKKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

At Mclntosli Bluff was held the first Coimtj Court 
of Washington county, in 1803. John Caller, Cornelius 
Rain, and John Johnson presiding. Mcintosh Bluff 
was an English grant, the tract of land so-called having 
been given by the King of England to Captain John 
Mcintosh, who was connected with tlie army of West 
Florida. John Mcintosh had a son who became a 
British officer, and a daughter born in Georgia. This 
daughter went to England, married a British officer 
named Troup, returned to Mobile, and went up the 
river in a barge to her father's residence. There, in 
1780, at Mcintosh Bluff, was born a son who bore the 
name of George M. Troup, and who became in after 
years a distinguished governor of Georgia, one of the 
vigorous political writers of his age. The Mcintosh 
family were Scotch highlanders, and while one branch 
had its representatives in the British army, other mem- 
bers of the family, citizens of Georgia, were zealous 
whigs during the Revolution. Among these were Col- 
onel John and General Lachlan Mcintosh, the latter 
having come to the Georgian colony when a boy witli 
Oglethorpe, its founder, 

McGrew's Reserve, just opposite St. Stephens is 
said to have been a Spanish grant; the third one of 
these grants on the east side of the river, having been 
included in the land known as the Carney plantation. 

Returning to the civil affairs of the Territory and 
of Washington county, it was found tliat I^atchez, or 
the new town of Washington a few miles east, was too 
far distant from St. Stephens for the convenient admiti- 
istration of justice, and the President was therefore 
authorized to appoint a Supreme Court Judge for the 
settlers along the Tombeckbee. Hon. Harry Toul- 



THE MISSISSIPPI TERRITORY. 79 

min, boi*n in Englaml, liaving sought religious freedom 
in America, for four years President of Transylvania 
University at Lexington, and Secretary of State of 
Kentucky for eight years, a good scholar, tine writer, 
and vrell versed in law, was selected for the new })osi- 
tion. He at first settled near Fort Stoddart, then re- 
moved to the court house and named it Wakefield. 
He held his first court in 1804 or 1805. At this time 
there were some seven or eight hundred inhabitants on 
the Tensaw and the Alabama, and in the fork, besides 
those on the western side of the Tombeckbee. 

The next year Thomas Bassett, Edward Creighton, 
James Denby, Sen., and George Brewer, Jun., were 
appointed commissioners in regard to a town called 
"Wakefield, some twenty miles south of St. Stephens. 
This must have been the place so named by Judge 
Toulrain ; and the distance and direction, as mentioned 
in the Mississip})i Statutes, would locate this town near 
Mcintosh's Blulf. As at this place the first court was 
held, here probably a court house had been built. 
Pickett, however, has located Wakefield several miles 
north of the Blufi". Fort Stoddart was now a port of 
entry, where the Court of Admiralty was held. In the 
fall of 1804, Captain Sliaumberg had retired from the 
command, and was succeeded by Captain Schuyler of 
New York with eighty men. Edmund P. Gaines, 
Lieutenant, and Lieut. Reuben Chamberlain, pay- 
master. Congress made this Tombeckbee region a 
revenue district, calling it the district of Mobile. At 
Fort Stoddart duties were exacted upon merchandise 
brought in, and also required uj^on products sent out. 
These duties, the Spaniards at Mobile exacting duties 
also, bore heavily upon the settlers. As one illustra- 



80 CLAEKE AND ITS SURROUNDIlSrGS. 

tion, in the year 1807 the Natchez planters in the 
western part of the territory paid for Kentucky flour 
four dollars for a barrel, and the same flour cost the 
Tombeekbee planters sixteen dollars. In 1805 only an 
Indian trail led from the distant Oconee river to Lake 
Tensaw. This wide extent of country was held by the 
Muscogee or Creek Indians. The Georgia colony do 
not seem to have extended their settlements west of the 
Oconee river, and after the Revolution in 1783 and 
1786 the State of Georgia vainly endeavored by treaties 
to obtain peaceable possession of the lands east of a line 
extending from the union of the Ockmulgee and Oconee 
to the St. Mary's river, including the islands and 
harbors of that southern coast. Peaceable possession 
of these lands was not obtained until the treaty was 
made by President Washington at [N'ew York with 
Colonel McGillivray in 1790. West of the line named 
and of the Oconee river the Creek nation held posses- 
sion. But in the fall of 1805, thirty Creek chiefs and 
warriors, a delegation from their nation, being at 
Washington, the General Government obtained from 
them the right " of using a horse path through their 
country," the chiefs agreeing to build bridges, or have 
ferries across the streams, and to open houses of 
entertainment for travellers. A route of travel was 
thus secured for emigrants from Georgia into the wilds 
between the rivers. And the same fall the Choctaw 
Indians ceded to the United States five millions of 
acres of their lands, beginning at the Cut Off, now the 
southern limit of Clarke, half way between the two 
rivers, running north along the water shed, to the 
Choctaw corner, which is on the present northern 
boundary of Clarke, and on or near the second range 



THE MISSISSIPPI TERRITORY. 81 

line east, then west to the Fulluctabnna Old Fields, or 
to the moiith of Fluctabnna Creek, then crossing the 
Tombeckbee, west to the Mississippi settlements, south 
to latitude 31°, called Elliotts line, and east to the Mobile 
river, and north to the Cut Off. Thus a grant of land 
was obtained lying east of the Tombeckbee river where 
those pioneers, coming through the Creek nation, 
might settle and make homes without intruding upon 
Indian rights. But it appears that for this very strip 
of territory east of the Tombeckbee and extending half 
way to the Alabama, other claimants soon appeared. 
The Creek Indians claimed that it belonged to them, 
rather than to the Choctaws, and that the Choctaws 
had therefore no right to cede to the United States any 
lands east of the Tombeckbee. Instead of resorting 
to arms or to diplomacy the Creeks agreed to risk tlieir 
claims on the success of a game of ball. Old settlers 
in Clarke refer to this game as a fact well authenticated 
and attested by eyewitnesses. John Scarborough, who 
would now be about eighty-five years of age, if living, 
was one of those who witnessed it. The contestants in 
this game laid aside most of their clothing. The 
Creeks are described as having been slim and straight 
in person, the Choctaws as shorter but active as cats. It 
is said that the first game was played by warriors against 
warriors, and that the Creeks being vanquished were dis- 
satisfied. Then the Choctaws offered to let their squaws 
play against the Creek sqnaws. The offer was accepted. 
The women played. And again the Choctaws won. 
The Creeks now gave up their claims. The locality 
assigned for this singular game, by the early settle I's, 
is an old play-ground near the old siti' of Elam church, 
and near where the corner-post was linally driven that 
6 



82 CLARKE AISTD ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

marked the boundary between Choctaw and Creek. In 
1808 the line was surveyed from Hal's Lake to the 
Choctaw corner. Previous to this time, in the disputed 
region, the Choctaws and Creeks had both hunted and 
fought for the game. The surveyors were on the 
ground. The Indians agreed to a line that should 
cross no water. One who has travelled in various 
directions across this disputed territory would suppose 
such a line very difficult to be traced. It is said that 
twenty chiefs of each party went along with their 
tomahawks to blaze the trees. The whole space be- 
tween the Alabama and Tombeckbee, and further 
north than Clarke county extends, even to the mouth 
of the Black Warrior, had been ceded by the Choc- 
taws to the British, in a treaty made at Mobile, March 
26, 1765. Kow, for the last time, after the decisive 
game between the Indian squaws, this strip came into 
the possession of those who proposed to hold it against 
Creeks or any other claimants or invaders. For a few 
jears they had been coming from Georgia, South and 
North Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and con- 
tinued to come rapidly until 1812, those border men 
bringing their wives and children with them, who were 
to experience the savage fierceness of Muscogees on the 
war path. They had settled even up to the narrow 
indge, the dividing line, of what the Creeks still held as 
their own hunting grounds. But before reaching those 
scenes of danger and daring, of suffering and strife, 
other events remain to be recorded. One of these is 
the capture of Aaron Burr. 

The son of an estimable and gifted woman, the 
grandson of Jonathan Edwards, the great mental phi- 
losopher and theologian of America, Burr was noted 



THE MISSISSIPPI TERRITORY. 83 

for talent, but not for integrity and purity of moral 
character. At one time Vice-President of the United 
States, afterward disappointed in some scheme which 
he had planned in regard to Louisiana, he was arrested 
by Col. Claiborne, acting under orders from the Govern- 
or of Mississippi Territory, who was influenced by the 
proclamation of President Jefferson, and appeared in 
Washington, the seat of government of the Territory, 
six miles east of Natchez, a prisoner of the United 
States. On the second day of the trial he did not ap- 
pear in the court-room, and the Governor ofl'ered a 
reward of two thousand dollars for his ajjprehension, 
while a troop of cavalry was sent in pursuit. This was 
in January 1807. 

In February, at the hour of ten at night, in their 
cabin in Wakelield, Nicholas Perkins, a young lawyer, 
and Thomas Malone, then clerk of the court, heard the 
distant tramp of horses. Soon two travellers were at 
their door making inquiries. The light from the pitch 
pine fire shone upon one of the travellers who was 
splendidly mounted and whose remarkable countenance 
and brilliant eyes attracted Perkins' attention. When 
the horsemen left the door Perkins said to Malone, 
"That is Aaron Burr. I have read a description of 
him in the proclamation.'' And the thoroughly excited 
Perkins, unable to enlist Malone in his eflTorts, started 
out to secure his arrest. Knowing the route which the 
horsemen were to take the next morning, Perkins pro- 
ceeded to Fort Stoddart, and about daybreak, entering 
into the fort, announced his suspicions to Edmund P. 
Gaines, then the captain in command. About sunrise 
Captain Gaines with a file of mounted soldiers and 
Perkins went out upon the road, and about nine in the 



84 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

morning tliey met the two strange horsemen, now ac- 
companied by a third. The following conversation is 
given by Pickett: 

" Gtaines. I presume sir, I have tlie honor of ad- 
dressing Colonel Burr i 

" Stranger. I am a traveller in the country and do 
not recognize your right to ask such a question. 

"Gaines. I arrest you, at the instance of the Fed- 
eral Government. 

"Stranger. By what authority do you arrest a 
traveller upon the highway, on his own private busi- 
ness ? 

" Gaines. I am an officer of the army. I hold in my 
hands the proclamations of the President and the Gov- 
erno]', directing your arrest. 

" Stranger. You are a young man and may not be 
aware of the responsibilities which result from arresting 
travellers. 

"Gaines. I am aware of the responsibilities, but I 
know my duty." Then the stranger "became exceed- 
ing! 3^ animated," and at some length denounced the 
proclamations ;ind endeavored to intimidate the young 
officer. But the young captain arrested him, took him 
to Fort Stoddart, and in a few days arrangements were 
made to convey him to Washington City. He was 
taken in a boat up the river to Lake Tensaw, and there 
delivered into the custody of JSTicholas Perkins, through 
whom he had been arrested, Thomas Malone, the clerk 
of the county court, Henry B. Slade, John Mills, Jolin 
Henry, two brothers McCormicks of Kentucky, and 
two United States soldiers. 

The party proceeded on horseback. The horses 
swam the Chatahoochie, the Flint, and the Ockmulgee, 



THE MISSISSIPPI TERRITORY. 85 

tlie men crossing in canoes. At tlie Oconee they found 
a ferry boat, and after crossing the river found a liouse 
of entertainment, where for the first time on the route 
they were sheltered by a roof. Arriving in Soutli Car- 
olina they procured a gig and leaving Colonel Burr at 
Kiehmond reported to President Jefferson at Washing- 
ton and returned by the way of Tennessee to tlie county 
of Washington. The arrest of Aaron Burr was one ot 
those exciting events in the early times in the surround- 
ings of Clarke, which adds something more to tlie 
garnered historic richness of this region. 

Four years before, at that same Tensaw Boat Yard, 
in the heart of a wilderness, another man, well known 
in this land, had suddenly appeared, the noted Lorenzo 
Dow, who came there to proclaim, as the first Protest- 
ant minister, the message of salvation to the Tensaw 
settlers. 

A digest of various laws for the Mississippi Territory 
was adopted and approved the tenth of Februarj- 1S07. 
Among these was one regulating the marriage cere- 
mony. Any ordained minister must first produce to 
the Orphans Court of some county in the territory cre- 
dentials of his ordination, and of his living in regular 
communion with his society, and obtain from that court 
a testimonial authorizing him to solemnize marriage, 
that testimonial to be granted at the discretion of the 
court. Pastors however of any society might join to- 
gether in marriage members of their own society- 
according to their own regulations. The territorial 
legislators seem to have been suflicienth'- strict in their 
requirements from ministers to enable them legally to 
marry the young people of the river settlements, who 
had been accustomed for so many years easily and se- 



86 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

curely to marry themselves. But ministers in these 
same river settlements were as yet very few. 

The hour of opening and closing elections in the 
Territory was iixed thus, to take effect after 1808: 
That the sheriffs shall open the elections "at twelve of 
the clock in the forenoon; and shall close at the hour 
of two in the afternoon, on the subsequent day." 

A strict law against bribery had previously been 
adopted, providing that any representative elected in 
the Territory who should "directly or indirectly give, 
or agree to give, to any elector, money, meat, drink, or 
other reward, in order to be elected, or for having been 
elected, for any county, shall be expelled, and forever 
after disabled from holding any office of profit or trust 
under this government." 

Among tlie "laws of 1807 was also an act for laying"^ 
out a town in Washington county near Fort St. 
Stephens, (the streets to be not less than one hundred 
feet wide,) on the lands of Edwin Lewis; John Baker, 
James Morgan, and John F. McGrew, being appointed 
commissioners to lay out this town. Brewer, not 
recognizing any French occupancy here, says, that St. 
Stephens was first settled by the Spaniards who built a 
fort about 1786. Pickett says that St. Stephens was 
laid off into town lots in 1807, and that a road was cut 
to Natchez. An act was also passed to incorporate the 
Mississippi Society for the acquirement and dissemina- 
tion of useful knowledge. Also an act to establish 
Jefferson College. In the same year the town of 
ISTatcliez was incorporated and made a city. Also, 
Harry Toulmin, James Caller, and Lemuel Henry, 
were appointed to locate and open a road from Natchez 
to Fort Stoddart. From these various acts it is evident 



THE MISSISSIPPI TERRITORY. 87 

that settlements had increased and that civilization was 
advancing. 

At this time the cultivation ot cotton was rapidly- 
taking the place of the older product indigo; the rais- 
ing of indigo on the old Spanish and British planta- 
tions having been abandoned after the great "Yazoo 
freshet," in 1791; and cotton receipts from a gin owner 
were "made a legal tender and passed as domestic bills 
of exchange." Thus early in the century, in the heart 
of the great Cotton Belt, was the commercial import- 
ance of cotton beginning to be recognized, an im- 
portance that has been increasing from then until now, 
making its possession, in prospect or in fact, the basis 
for commercial transactions in which credit is involved. 
The inhabitants of this wilderness were now becoming 
strongly, in feeling and action, Americans ; for in this 
year of 1807, after the attack by the British on the 
American vessel the Chesapeake, James McGoffin, al- 
ready a resident here, having drafted some patriotic 
resolutions, the inhabitants, "both whigs and tories, 
participated in an animated public meeting at Wake- 
field, pledging their support to the United States, to 
avenge" this outrage. In 1810 the patriotism of these 
river settlements took a new direction. They had suf- 
fered many annoyances from the presence of the Span- 
iards below them, and an expedition was planned for 
driving them out of Mobile. Troops were raised, boats 
were loaded with provisions, and the volunteer soldiers 
passed from the Boat Yard down the Tensaw river. 
The expedition was not well managed and was unsuc- 
cessful, and the settlers soon found nearer home abun- 
dant use for all their military skill and munitions of 
war, leaving the final expulsion of the Spaniards to the 
General Government. 



55 CLARKE AND ITS SUKIiOUNDINGS. 

It would be interesting to look into the homes of 
these earliest American occupants along this winding 
river that forms the western boundary of Clarke ; and 
see the inmates as they gather for the morning and the 
midday meals, as they go to their corn fields and their 
cotton patches, and as they clear the river bottoms and 
burn the huge piles of pitch pine upon the uplands; as 
they bring in the game, the wild turkeys and the deer, 
and meet sometimes with the wolf, the panther, and 
the bear ; and as they gather often at night-fall in some 
larger cabin for festivities and social intercourse. For 
any full view of their daily life the material is wanting. 
It is known that they were resolute, enterprising, 
hardy, and sociable, and to some extent a jileasure lov- 
ing people; they did not share the stern, the austere 
characteristics attributed to the early inhabitants of the 
North-East ; but they were hospitable, generous, and 
brave, and not deficient in the social virtues. A few 
years later we shall be able to glance more fully into 
pioneer homes and learn more accurately then, the 
modes of living of the successors of the Choctaws and 
the Muscogees. The M^ar cloud which since even 1806 
has been gathering over this young nation grows more 
threatening in its dark folds, as tlie cannon of IN^apoleon 
Bonaparte, now controlling France and at war with 
England, are thundering over all southern and central 
Europe. The indignities and atrocities of the English 
war ships can be borne no longer. On the nineteenth 
of June, 1812, was published by authority of Congress, 
on the recommendation of President Madison, a procla- 
mation of war against England. Before the year closed, 
so many settlers having already found homes between 
the rivers, an act of the Mississippi Territorial Legisla- 



THE MISSISSIPPI TERRITORY. 89 

ture called into existence on the tenth of December 
the county of Clarke, The settlers in this new county, 
in connection with the war against England which the 
Atlantic States were waging, were to encounter Indian 
hostilities on their borders and among their homes ; 
but before proceeding to review these tragic scenes, it 
is desirable to notice the native children of these river 
and forest wilds. 



From Court Records of Washington county: 

"Mississippi Territory. At a superior court held 
for the District of Washington at Mcintosh Bluff on 
the fourth Monday in September, anno Dom. 1802. 
Present the right Honourable Seth Lewis, Esq., Chief 
Justice of the M. Territory. On the venire facias the 
following jurors (to wit) Ransom Harwell, William 
Rogers, Matthew Robinson, Tandy Walker, George 
Robbins, Thomas Carson, John Burney, Sampson 
Munger, William Vardiman, Nathan Blackwell, Fran- 
cis Bayakin, Isaac Ryan, William H. Flargrave, Rich- 
ard Brasheor, Daniel Johnston, John Ilinson, Jesse 
Ross, John Johnston, James Fair, Joseph Campbell, 
Richard Hawkins, Benjamin King, Joseph Thompson, 
Moses Steadham, Joseph Stiggins, John Callier, John 
McGrew, John Brewer, Richard Lee, Benjamin Hoven, 
Samuel Minis, Michael Milton, George Wakely, Wil- 
liam Wakely, Josiah Fletcher, and William Prince." 

Among these thirty-six are some that afterward be- 
came noted, and among them all there is but one hav- 
ing a middle name. 

On the first grand jury were "John Callier, fore- 
man," Tandy Walker, and Samuel Minis. 

"T\^icliolas Perkins Esq, was admitted to the prac- 
tice of Attorney General of the Court.'' 

Samuel Henry, Robert Knox, and Leonard D. Shaw, 
were admitted to practice as att<n'neys, each "having 
tirst produced a license and taken the oath prescribed 



90 CLAKKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

by law." The attorney general "produced bis com- 
mission." 

Some other names in the records of this session of 
conrt are James Caller, William Kimbro, Peter Ma- 
lone, John Murrell, William Williams, and William 
Walton. 

The next term of this Superior Court was held at 
Mcintosh Bluff in May, 1804. David Kerr Esq. pre- 
sented his commission as Judge. Among the names 
for jurors are, William Buford, Edward Creighton, 
Thomas Bassett, John F. McGrew, Samuel McGee, 
Thomas Mercer, John Callier, James Caller, and John 
Dease. Other names in the records are, James McCon- 
nell, Nathaniel Christmas, Thomas Caller, and Young 
Gaines. 

Another term of this court was held at the court- 
house in the town of Wakefield in September, 1805. 
Harry Toulmin Esq. was now Judge. In 1806 the 
name of Joseph Wheat appears. 

From the court records for 1808 it appears that the 
collector of customs at Fort Stoddart, then a port oi 
entry, had occasion to seize considerable wine on diifer- 
ent schooners. Then as now men would evade if pos- 
sible the laws concerning intoxicating dVinks. 

In the court records of Washington county under 
date of Tuesday, Sept. 22, 1818, is this item: ' "John 
Ga3de having taken an oath to support the Constitu- 
tion of the United States, and also the oath as Attorney 
and Counsellor at Law, he is permitted to practice in 
this Court.'' He afterward became the seventh gov- 
ernor of Alabama. 



CHAPTER IV. 

INDIANS OF THE SOUTH-EAST. 



SOME of the authorities in regard to these Indians 
are the following : 

1. Le Moyne's Florida^ published in 1591. Jacob 
Le Moyne, a Frenchman, and an admirable painter, 
accompanied a French expedition to Florida in 1564. 
He made many excursions along the coast and into the 
interior, and made nice "drawings of the Indians, their 
houses, farms, graves, amusements, manners, customs, 
and religious ceremonies." Fortj-two plates of his 
drawings were published. • 

2. Gen. 2filfo7'fs Creek Indians^ published in 1802 
at Paris, written by Le Clere Milfort, a well educated 
Frenchman, who spent among the Muscogees the years 
from 1776 to 1796, marrying the sister of Col. Alexan- 
der McGillivray, the noted Creek chieftain. From the 
old men among the Creeks he obtained their history 
and traditions. Their memories were assisted by 
strands of pearl which "constituted their archives." 

3. Bartram's Travels, not published entire, written 
by William Bartram, the English botanist, who trav- 
elled among these Indians before the Revolutionary 
War, and whose statements concerning them are very 
minute and believed to be accurate. 

4. Adair\s American Indians, written by James 
Adair, a learned Englishman, whose intercourse with 



92 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS, 

some of these tribes commenced in 1Y35 and who re- 
sided tliirtj years among the Chickasaws, from 1744 to 
1774:. His large work of about five hundred pages 
was published at London in 1Y75. He endeavored in 
his work to prove that the Indians were a part of the 
Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. He reasoned from "their 
division into tribes — worship of Jehovah — notions 
of a theocracy — belief in the ministration of angels 
— language and dialects — manner of computing time — 
their Prophets and High Priests — festivals, feasts, and 
religious rites — daily sacrifices — ablutions and anoint- 
ings — laws of uncleanliness — abstinence from unclean 
things — marriages, divorces, and punishments for 
adultery — other punishments — their towns of refuge "" 
— and other particulars including their burial of the 
dead, their mourning for the dead, and their own tra- 
ditions. 

5. Du Pratz'8 LouisicMa., written by an intelligent 
Frenchman, Le Page Du Pi-atz, who came over in 1718 
and resided among the Indians sixteen years, and re- 
turning* to France published his work as above named. 

6. Mohifdi's Ilorida., written by Barnard Roman, a 
captain in the British army, who in 1771 made a jour- 
ney through the Choctaw and Chickasaw territory. 

These are but a few of the authorities existing con- 
cerning the Indians of the sixteenth and eighteenth 
centuries. 

The plan of this work makes it needful to condense 
into a single chapter facts and conjectures concerning 
the Indian tribes of the South-East which would be 
sufiicient to fill a volume. 

ISTo thing is knoimi concerning the origin of the first 
native inhabitants, called the aborigines, of North 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTH-EAST. 93 

America. It is conjectured that they came from Asia, 
and there are two island routes across the Pacific by 
which, without much difiiculty, adventurers might have 
passed. The one is along the Aleutian or Fox Islands, 
across a narrow part of the North Pacific. The other 
is along groups of islands near the line of the Tropic 
of Cancer. Nearly all the islands of Oceanica are in- 
habited. Traditions, remaining among some of them, 
declare, that the ancestors of the present inhabitants 
came many years ago in canoes. If inhabitants, hav- 
ing their origin on the continent of Asia, reached by 
successive migrations that multitude of islands in the 
South Pacific, there is no improbability in supposing that 
some stragglers, or some explorers, or some storm-driven 
yoyagers, landed finally on the coasts of America. If 
the difi'erent members of the wide spread human family 
have had a common origin, it becomes certain that 
from the westward or the eastward the first Indians 
came. 

The Spaniards found in Mexico and in Peru large em- 
pires and traces and existing evidences of no slight ad- 
vance in civilization. From what source came their 
knowledge and improvement '; A number of thought- 
ful students of historj^ have diligently explored the ex- 
isting sources of information concerning the kingdom 
of Mexico some four hundred years ago, and these are 
a few of the conclusions. 

The ancient Toltecs, although but little is known con- 
cerning them, were probably the originators of Mexi- 
can civilization. They are said to have come from the 
northward, and Prescott says, "probably before the 
close of the seventh century." Their written records, 
for such they seem to have had, have periehed. They 



94 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

understood agriculture, and many mechanical arts, 
worked metals, erected large buildings; and after re- 
maining some four hundred years, went southward, 
perhaps, into Central America. 

The Aztecs or Mexicans came also from some distant 
North, according to the traditions generally received. 
The date of 1325 is assigned by the best authorities for 
their commencement of the city of Mexico. The Az- 
tecs began to conquer, and just before the Spaniards 
arrived, when the sixteenth century began, they ruled a 
broad extent of what is now known as Mexico, from 
the Mexican Sea to the Pacific Ocean. 

The Mexicans had introduced the horrible custom of 
offering human sacrifices and also of feasting on hu- 
man flesh, of which their more enlightened prede- 
cessors, the Toltecs, are declared guiltless. 

The Spaniards who entered Florida found, according 
to Spanish, Portuguese, and Peruvian writings, all de- 
pending upon Spanish testimony, quite an advanced 
state of Indian society in the South-East. And the 
interesting question arises. When or how did it origi- 
nate ? Spanish testimony being accepted, the South 
Eastern Indians were superior to those found elsewhere 
in the pi'esent limits of the United States. But allow- 
ing even that the Peruvian Inca and the Portuguese 
historians have colored to some extent their narrations, 
the Indians living here one hundred years ago were su- 
perior to most of the North American tribes, and their 
descendants are "the civilized tribes " as reported from 
the Indian Bureau for the year 187Y. Their names and 
population are given thus : 

Cherokees 18,672 

Creeks 14,000 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTH-EAST. 95 

Clioctaws 16,000 

Chickasaws ...... 5,600 

Seminoles ...... 2 ,443 

And wliat is the present condition of these tribes ? 
The Cherokees are reported to be well advanced in 
civilization, to be intelligent, temperate, and industri- 
ous; having seventy-five common schools well fur- 
nished, and two seminaries. They have also twenty- 
four stores, sixty-five smith shops, and twenty-two 
mills. The Creeks have twenty-eight public schools ; 
the Choctaws have fifty-four and a boarding and a 
manual labor school ; and the Chickasaws and Semi- 
noles have made good provision for the instruction of 
their children. Among these tribes are two hundred 
churches and ten thousand church members. 

So far as these tribes are conci rned it is no longer a 
question. Can the Indians become civilized t 

A few Choctaw families did not remove to the In- 
dian Territory. They remained on the Pearl and Pas- 
cagoula rivers. These refused to become civilized, pre- 
ferring to live by hunting and selling berries and 
kindling wood to the whites. One of these furnishes 
an illustration as to the capabilities and qualities of the 
modern Choctaws. However ignorant and degraded 
now these men may be, their women are said to be 
proverbially modest and virtuous. Indeed Dale says. 
Gen. Dale, one of the border men of Clarke, who will 
soon be introduced to the reader, whom Meek calls the 
Daniel Boone of Alabama ; and who had abundant op- 
portunity to study the Indian character, "An Indian 
maid, when a warrior approaches, bends her head like 
a drooping leaf. It is only in the 'deepest recesses, 
when no others are near, that her lover sees the whole 



96 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

luster of her eyes, or even the bhishes that mantle on 
her cheek. Thej love intensely, and make the most 
faithful wives and the tenderest of mothers." The illus- 
tration now to be presented showing the qualities of a 
Choctaw maiden is given on the authority of Judge 
Meek. It appears that these Pascagoula Indians were 
accustomed to visit Mobile to dispose of their berries 
and their pine wood. Among" a party of these Choc- 
taws in the winter of 1846 was a young girl about seven- 
teen, "of unusual beauty and attractiveness." She is 
represented as having been "tall, round-limbed, 
straight, and graceful, a very model of feminine form." 
On account of her singular beauty she was a belle in 
her own community, and was called the Wild Fawn of 
Pascagoula. She had fawn-like eyes, " coal black hair, 
neatly plaited in massive folds," small feet, an erect 
carriage, and attracted the attention of all beholders on 
the streets of the town by her native beauty. She sup- 
ported herself and an aged mother hj selling berries 
and lightwood. She was very successful in selling, 
and especially to the j^ouug men of Mobile. One of 
these, a young lawyer, of elegant manners and fine 
personal appearance, concluded to experiment with the 
j^oung Fawn and see if she had an ordinary girl heart. 
He paid her little attentions for months, and one morn- 
ing when, as usual, she had brought up her load of 
pine to lii,s room, he ventured to bestow upon her lips 
a kiss and spoke warmly to her of love. She listened 
to him for a few moments ; but when he was about to 
present another kiss she rapidly crossed the room and 
said "Stand off." " Me good friend to kind gentle- 
man, but no love ! The Fawn must marry her own 
people. She love young warrior up on Pascagoula. 



INDIANS OF THP] SOUTH-EAST. 97 

He liave heart and skin the same color. Mobile men 
not good for Choctaw girl. Me go to mv home — to 
Choctaw Chiefs cabin — to-morrow. Good-b}^ ! Me 
love you much, yon so kind, but no wife.'''' And 
drawing her red blanket proudly around her proud 
form she passed from the door. And the young law- 
yer stood motionless, gazing at the door through which 
the vision of beauty had departed, fully satisfied, it is 
said, not to experiment any farther with Choctaw mai- 
dens, soliloquizing to himself thus : "This Fawn of 
Pascagoula has for months taken all my presents and 
delicate attentions with the timidity of a nun, and now 
has given me the sack as completely as it could have 
been done by any fashionable coquette in a gilded sa- 
loon by the light of a chandelier." Discreet, modest, 
beautiful Choctaw maiden ! 

One other illustration, a Choctaw man, will also 
show Indian capability. 

James L. McDonald was the English name of a 
Choctaw boy, who was adopted when about fourteen 
years of age by Colonel Thomas L. McKeeney, chief of 
the bureau of Indian affairs at Washington. This 
young Choctaw, who possessed much personal beauty, 
was graceful in every movement, and endowed with 
excellent qualities of mind and heart, shared the same 
advantages as Colonel McKeeney's (»wn son. He 
studied diligently and learned rapidly. Said his 
teacher, "He comes to school with his lessons all so 
well digested, and with more Latin, and Greek, and 
mathematics in one of them, than his class can get 
through in a week ; so I have been obliged to put him 
in a class by himself." After completing his academic 
studies he commenced the study of law ; and in about 
7 



98 ■ CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

one-half the usual time for gaining a knowledge of that 
department of professional life, "he was ready for the 
bar." He had felt however, while thus preparing him- 
self for active civilized life, that all his attainments 
would be of no avail. He had said to his benefactor, 
"I am an Indian." "My race is degraded, trodden 
upon, despised." He then presented a letter wdiich he 
had received from his brother, a lieutenant in the 
United States army, which contained, as a result of his 
brother's experience, the following words : "There is 
only one of two things for you to do; either throw 
away all that belongs to the white men, and turn In- 
dian, or quit being Indian, and turn white man. The 
first you can do ; the latter is not in your power to do. 
The white man hates the Indian, and will never permit 
him to come into close fellowship with him, or to be a 
participator in any of his high prerogatives or distin- 
guished advantages." This must have been written 
between 1820 and 1830, and however true it might 
have been then, the time has come when no gifted, or 
cultivated, or even civilized Indian, ought to be made 
to feel that the white man hates him. The manifesta- 
tion of such a feeling is a poor proof of superiority on 
the part of any white man. Young McDonald, al- 
though depressed in spirits, after acquiring the knowl- 
edge which would fit him for practice at the bar, 
returned to his nation to visit his mother, went to 
Washington city as a delegate, with other Choctaws, 
on business for his tribe, astonished John C. Calhoun 
and other public men by his skill in business, his 
promptness, and competency, returned home and 
opened a law oflice with flattering prospects, in Jack- 
son, Mississippi. Here terminates the illustration as 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTH-EAST. 99 

to Choctaw capability. The end of this gifted Indian 
was tragic and sad. He formed an attaclinient for a 
white girl, who would, he had fondly hoped, secure to 
him domestic happiness. His suit was rejected, as lie 
thought, with scorn. Smarting under a feeling of deg- 
radation because he was an Indian, he gave up life's 
battle in despair, rushed to the river, and white man 
like, drowned himself in the dark waters. 

ISTot so discreet and wise as tlie Fawn of Pascagoula. 
She lived among her own people, and with her own 
color only would she marry. So should the red man 
do. Has not his tribe many maidens fair C So should 
the white man do. Are there not white maidens good 
and kind and true i And so, too, should the black man 
do ; marry in his own division of the great family of 
man. Surely there are colored maidens who will prove 
to him to be good and true. 

Returning to the native children of these ancient 
wilds, De Soto found the third grade of Indian civiliza- 
tion, in the whole New World, among the Indian tribes 
of the South-East, Pern presenting the first, and Mex- 
ico the second. Proofs of that advance in, or rather 
toward, civilization, are the following particulars. 
These Indians, to quite a fair extent, cultivated the 
soil. Along the Tallapoosa in the summer of 1540 ex- 
tensive fields of maize lay on both sides of the river, 
and among the Coosas were "many sown fields " reach- 
ing from one Indian village to another, while at the 
same time "barns" were full of corn, the growth of a 
former year. Near Manbila. where so much blood was 
shed, were "many populous towns, well stored with 
corn, beans, pumpkins, and other provisions." 

An Indian chief east of the Tallapoosa presented De 



100 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Soto in the month of June with "twenty barns full'* 
of the best which the country afforded. Peas and 
squashes are also mentioned. Additional proof of cul- 
tivation need not be offered. 

It is some advance beyond ordinary savage life to 
depend for food upon the cultivation of the earth. 
These Indians erected larger and better buildings than 
the other Indians found in the United States. The 
large houses of Maubila have been already mentioned. 
The town of Coosa contained five hundred houses. 
Upon the Florida coast " the houses were built of 
timber, covered with palm leaves, and thatched with 
straw." Further inland they were covered with reeds 
put on like tiles, and had very neat walls. Yet further 
northward each family had a winter house plastered 
inside and out with clay, and an open summer house, 
and a crib and kitchen near by. The houses of the 
chiefs were much larger than the ordinary Indian house, 
and had piazzas in front and cane benches for seats. 
The liouse of one chief is mentioned expressly as being 
"built in the form of a large pavilion, upward of one 
hundred and twenty feet in length by forty in width, 
with a number of small buildings connected like offi- 
ces." Their temples were quite large. One on the 
Savannah river was more than one hundred feet in 
length and forty in width. The walls were high and 
the roof steep, covered with mats of split cane com- 
pactly interwoven. 

Tlie architecture of these Indians did not approach 
very near to the skill of the old Peruvians ; but these 
Indians evidently had some ideas in regard to build- 
ing. 

They also understood the use of copper and made 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTH-EAST. 101 

various implements and utensils of copper, and wood, 
and stoiie. 

One of their temples is described as entered by tliree 
gates, and at each gate were ^ gigantic wooden statues, 
presenting fierce and menacing attitudes. Some of 
them were armed with clubs, maces, canoe-paddles, 
and copper hatchets, and others with draw-bows and 
long pikes. All these implements were ornamented 
with rings of pearls and bands of copper.'' Within this 
temple were chests tilled with valuable pearls, others 
tilled with various colored deer skins, and yet others 
containing clothing in large quantities made of various 
kinds of fur. A store house adjoining the temple, 
having eight apartments, contained long copper pikes, 
"•clubs, maces, wooden swords, paddles, arrows, 
quivers, bows, round wooden shields," and shields 
made of bulfalo hide ; all these being decorated with 
rings of pearl. Hoes for planting corn were made of 
fishbones, and mortars were made in which they 
pounded their corn. Superior canoes, barges, and what 
are called sedan-chairs, were also among their articles 
of woi'kmanship. 

The barge of the Savannah queen "had a tilted top 
at the stern " was handsome in its construction, and 
under that protection the queen was seated "upon soft 
cushions."' 

Such are some proofs of the progress these Indians 
of lolO had made toward civilization. 

These Indians wore mantles, sometimes made of 
fur, more commonly of the inner bark of trees inter- 
woven with a species of Hax. Their chiefs wore lofty 
plumes made of the feathers of eagles and other kingly 
or beautiful birds. At a battle which De Soto had in 



102 CLAEKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

middle Florida "ten thousand warriors appeared in 
this native head dress." These forest children were 
fond of display. 

"Indian grandees were often seen promenading, of 
an evening,"^ enveloped in beautiful mantles of deer 
skins, and of the martin, trailing behind them, and 
often held up bv attendants." 

Can modern civilization excel such a trail i The 
whole picture that is presented through Spanish eyes, 
of the natives of Clarke, and its surroundings, when 
they were lirst seen by Europeans, is very diiferent 
from the ordinary representation given of the earlj 
naked American savages. 

These Indians were actual mound-builders. They 
erected large mounds, from forty to ninety feet in 
height, and some of them, at the base, eighteen liun- 
dred feet in circumference. On the top of these mounds 
were the chief's houses, from ten to twenty in number, 
and at the base was laid out a public square with the 
houses of the prominent Indians built around it, while 
the smaller cabins were on the other side of the mound. 
One flight of steps, sometimes two or three, led up to 
the flat top of this artificial eminence. Sometimes 
these mounds were constructed in the form of an 
ellipse. 

They also made smaller burial mounds. These "are 
usually from five to ten feet high, from fifteen to sixty 
feet in circumference at the base, and of conical forms, 
resembling hay stacks. Where they have been exca- 
vated, they have, invariably, been found to contain 
human bones, various stone ornaments, weapons, pieces 
of pottery, and sometimes ornaments of copper and sil- 

* The word evouing, as here used, means after dinner, or in the afternoon. 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTH-EAST. 103 

ver, but of a rude manufacture, clearly indicatiuL; In- 
dian origin. Layers of aslies and charcoal are also 
found in these mounds." Mounds of this class were to 
be found a few years ago "in almost every field upon 
the rivers Tennessee, Coosa, Tallapoosa, Alabama, 
Cahaba, Warrior, and Tombigby." The Spaniards of 
1540 found in the various temples the dead laid away 
in wooden boxes or in blankets. These, it was after- 
ward ascertained, they would remove every few years 
and bury in the earth, thus forming these numerous 
burial mounds. 

As late as 1733 the French found that some Indians 
had within the two previous years, "erected mounds 
and embankments for defense, which covered an area 
of four hundred acres." 

In 1847 there was still in existence a large sacrificial 
mound seventy feet high and six hundred in circumfer- 
ence. 

A description or even an enumeration of the im- 
mense number of burial mounds, of the many sacrificial 
and building mounds, and of the remains of fortifica- 
tions, of ancient ditches, of rock houses, and of imple- 
ments of stone workmanship found in the South East, 
cannot be introduced here, but suflicient evidence exists 
to lead to the conclusion that the early Indians were 
the workmen who have left all these proofs of their ex- 
istence and their skill. 

If then, the Indians of 1540 were the mound-builders 
of the South-East, the probability appears that they were 
the descendants or remnants of those ancient Mound- 
builders who some thousand years ago occupied the 
northern portion of the great Mississippi Valley, and 
who have left their traces frotn the copper mines of 



104 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Lake Superior to the Mexican Gulf. Tliese early in- 
habitants, to whom no other name is giv^en but Mound- 
huilders, of whom it has been supposed all records were 
lost, and whose origin, modes of life, and disappear- 
ance, have been so fully shrouded in mystery, are sup- 
posed, by some historians, to have been closely re- 
lated to the ancient Aztecs, whose descendants were 
the inhabitants of central Mexico only four hundred 
years ago. .It is suggested here that the Maubilians 
and other South-eastern Indians, of three hundred and 
thirty-seven years ago, were the actual descendants and 
representatives of the Northern Mound-builders, were 
also related to the Aztecs, and that all their knowledge 
and civilization, running back of even the ancient Tol-- 
tecs, must be traced to immigrations upon the shores 
of the distant North-West, from old centers of Asiatic 
civilization and knowledge and art. 

But all Indian civilization, in both North and South 
America, seems to have withered at the touch of the 
white man. The Indians of the South-East, desolated 
by war, and swept off by diseases which they received 
from the Spaniards, never regained their former pros- 
perity after that Spanish invasion ; and when the French 
went among them great changes had taken place, new 
tribes had entered upon regions left desolate, and lower 
forms of fierce savage life were found. 

A brief view of the Indians of the eighteenth century 
will now be given. 

The five princijjal tribes have been already named. 

One large tribe, called the Natchez, were nearly des- 
troyed by the French. They came from the south- 
western part of the Mexican Empire and settled on the 
east side of the Mississippi. They were sun-worshipers. 



INDIANS OF THE i^OUTH-EAST. 105 

Their chiefs were called Suns, and their Grand Chief 
was termed the Grand Sun. In their temple tire was 
peri)etually burning, claimed to be sacred fire. Once, 
through negligence it had gone out, and profane fire 
was substituted. But dreadful calamities in consequence 
came upon the tribe. 

The French found some small tribes near Mobile, 
and also above the union of the two rivers, called Mo- 
bilians, still existing, a remnant of the old and powerful 
]\[aubilians. All these the French sometimes called by 
the general name of Mobile Indians. These became 
incorporated into the larger tribes. 

Another tribe also, called the Ahibamas, coming 
from the distant "West, had at length reached the Ala- 
bama river, where thej thought to find a peaceful home, 
but they also were compelled to unite with other tribes. 

As the Semiiioles, so called, were in fact a part of ihe 
great Greek Xation, it will be needful now to notice only 
the Cherokees, the Chickasaws, the Choctaws, and the 
Creeks. 

The Cherokees, unlike the other ti-ibes of this region, 
came originally from the North-East. 

At the beginning of the eighteenth century their 
nation comprised sixty-four towns. They were reduced 
by wars and by the sniall-})Ox so that at the close of 
17-iO they numbered only about four thousand warriors. 
They occupied Eastern Tennessee and a part of North 
Carolina, Xorth Georgia, and North-eastern Alabama. 
The men were large and r<)bust ; the women tall, slender, 
delicate in form, with small and "exquisitely shaped" 
hands and feet, and with features, it is said, of perfect 
symmetry. They spent more time than the other In- 
dians in dancing, and were, from the salubrity of their 



106 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

tei-ritory, longer lived. In their ball plays, green-corn 
dances, apparel mode of warfare, and other respects, they 
closely resembled the Creeks. They had great endur- 
ance, were very proud, implacable in enmity, but gentle 
and amiable friends. They differed from the other 
tribes in having no laws against adultery, and marriage 
among them was usually temporary. They were re- 
moved across the Mississippi in 1S38, and seem to be 
now the lirst of the civilized tribes. 

The Chickasaws, and also the Choctaws, are said to 
have descended from some early inhabitants of the 
Mexican empire, called Clnck-emi-caws. These two 
tribes, in company with the Choccomaws, crossed the 
Mississippi with ten thousand warriors. The Chicka- 
saws established tliemselves in what is now the north- 
eastern part of Mississippi and spread eastward into 
Alabama. They are said to have been the most fierce, 
haughty, insolent, and cruel of all the Southern tribes. 
They were very brave, but great robbers, making pred- 
atory excursions and conveying oif slaves and every- 
thing of value. They were called the most expert in 
tracking of all the American Indians. They disdained 
to kill beaver, but delighted to pursue the deer and elk. 
The men were well formed and athletic ; the women 
cleanly in their habits and good-looking. All were ex- 
cellent swimmers. 

They resided in 1771 upon a prairie, their houses 
occupying a space one mile and a half in length. Here 
they kept cattle and had large droves of horses. 

At different times their land was ceded to the 
United States, and in 1834 they were removed beyond 
the Mississippi. 

The Choctaws, who with the former tribe, are said 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTH-EAST. 107 

to have come from the West, settled idong tlie Tom- 
bigbee and westward, extending northward to the 
boundary of the Chickasaws. 

They occupied a part of the territory of the old Mau- 
bilians, and, if not the same people, with them the 
modern Mobilians became identified. They are sup- 
posed by Pickett to have been the Pafallayas of the 
Warrior river, the brave allies of Tuskaloosa in 1540, andl 
would naturally inliabit a part of his dominions. Thes^ 
Choctaws were the owners of the larger part of Clarke, 
the friendly Indians with whom the early settlers were 
familiar. 

They are described as being more slender in build 
than the other tribes, but well formed, the features of 
the women being lively and agreeable. The men were 
exceedingly agile, none excelling them in ball playing, 
none running as fast on level ground. In their per- 
sons they were not cleanly, and few of them, it is said, 
were able to swim. This singular fact is asserted by 
all early travellers among them ; and, possessing as 
they did such a finely watered region, it seems unac- 
countably strange. They are called, nevertheless, very 
agreeable Indians, "invariably cheerful, witty, and 
cunning." They were very hospitable, and excelled in 
hunting bears, panthers, and wild-cats in the "immense 
cane swamps with which their country abounded." 
They were not equal to the Chickasaws in pursuing the 
deer. As native orators they excelled. The use of 
well choseii and beautiful metaphors, characterized 
their concise and forcible speeches. Said one of their 
orators, alluding to one of the traditions of the origin 
of their tribe, " Like the leaves of the sycamore when 
the wind is blowing the Indians are passing away, and 



108 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

tlie white people will soon know no more of them, than 
the}' do of those deep caves out of which they had 
their origin." Orators, like poets, must be born, for 
how else could the uncultured Choctaws be able to 
utter such words of beauty and hre as yet remain on 
record in the speeches of their chiefs ? 

The men, unlike those of the other tribes, helped the 
women perform the needful work ; but they are charged 
with being inclined to an excessive indulgence of bodily 
appetites. They were not inclined to invade an enemy's 
territory, but fought bravely in defense of their own 
homes. 

They were not accustomed to torture prisoners, and 
were more reliable allies than most other Indians. 
Their great enemies were the Creeks. A war between 
these two neighboring tribes commencing in August, 
1765, the year of the noted British Stamp Act, ten 
years before the commencement of the War of the 
Revolution, was waged with fearful severity for six 
years. In lYYl they numbered bet\veen four and five 
thousand warriors. 

They were the friends and associates of the early 
settlers along the Tombigbee, and aided them in their 
own bloody Creek War, in 1813. They left their na- 
tive hunting grounds, ceding all that remained to them 
in Alabama and Mississippi at the treaty of Dancing- 
Rabbit Creek, in September, 1830 ; and these brave 
warriors, representatives of those who had followed 
the lilies of St. Denys on the banner of France, under 
the Governor Bienville, who had seen the lion of St. 
George on the British standard wave over them, and 
last of all had fought under the flag of the American 
Union, beside border men and disciplined troops, now 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTH-EAST. 109 

under tlie protection of that new power, also retire 
westward of tlie Fatlier of Waters. 

The Creek Indians alone remain to be noticed. The 
founders <if the Creek nation were called Muscogees. 
In 1520 when Hernando Cortes invaded Mexico, these 
Muscogees, forming then a separate government on 
the north-west of Mexico, aided Montezuma in his con- 
test against the Spaniards. Cortes and his followers 
conquered, and the .Muscogees determined to migrate. 
Leaving their old hunting grounds, which, according to 
this account as given in Milfort's Creek Indians, must 
have been in the present territory of Arizona, they 
started eastward, crossed vast prairies, a part probably 
of the great Staked Plain of Texas, afterward included 
in .Mexico, they reached the head waters of Red river, 
and followed that stream till they reached a large forest. 
Having been on the march for months they here en- 
camped, laid out a town, built houses and planted corn, 
having taken seed along with them. Here they re- 
mained several years in a buffalo range, enjoying peace 
and abundance. At length, alarmed by the approach 
of other Indians, called the Alabamas, also migrating 
from that great West, they turned northward and after 
crossing immense plains reached the Missouri river. 
Crossing this mighty current they came upon the Ala- 
bama Indians, who had killed some of their hunters on 
Red river, and these they now in turn attacked and de- 
feated. The Alabamas fled down the eastern bank of 
the Missouri. The Muscogees pursued, and again 
overtook and routed them. They reached and crossed 
the Mississippi river, and after makingivarious encamp- 
ments they came to the Ohio river and proceeded up 
that stream nearlv to the Wabash. Leaving Mexico in 



110 CLAKKE AND ITS SUKROUNDINGS. 

1520 and having spent fifteen years in reaching the 
Ohio, the Muscogees remained there for a number of 
years, wiiile the Ahibamas went southward and settled 
upon the Yazoo, where De Soto found them in 1541. 
At length the roving Muscogees followed the Alabamas 
to the Yazoo, the latter retreating and reaching the beau- 
tifid region along that river south of the Coosa and Tal 
lapoosa which now bears their name. Here they had 
hoped to find a permanent place of rest, but before many 
years had passed, the Muscogees, hearingof that delight- 
ful and broad region still eastward, came again upon 
tlu'm. The Alabamas fled and sought refuge among 
neighboring tribes. The Muscogees took possession of 
the Coosa, Tallapoosa, and Alabama river lands. This 
is supposed to have been in the year 1620, the year in 
which the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock and com- 
menced the settlement of New England, and one hun- 
dred years after the Muscogees left their earlier homes 
in Mexico. 

It is to be remembered that during this seventeenth 
century, at least until after the settlement at Charles- 
ton in 1670, few whites had intercourse with the Indi- 
ans of the South-East, and also that the account given 
above of the migration of the Muscogees rests upon 
Indian tradition which is not so certain as written rec- 
ords. It may, it may not, be very accurate. That 
account further states that this roving tribe, gaining a 
firm possession along the rivers named, and increasing 
in population spread eastward to the Ocmulgee the 
Oconee and to the Ogechee, and also established a 
town upon the Savannah. This account, whether cor- 
rect or colored, was confirmed in 1822 by the head 
chief of the Creek nation, styled the Big Warrior, in 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTII-EAflT. Ill 

liis conversations with a niissioiiaiy sent into his con- 
federacy from South Carolina. The Big Warrior fur- 
thermore declared that their ancestors came from Asia, 
crossing the Pacific Ocean. This had probably been 
suggested to him previously by some white man. Of 
this however there is no doubt, that in 1700, and as far 
back as the whites had any real knowledge, the Mus- 
cogees were a powerful people in possession of that 
broad extent of country from the Alabama to the Oco- 
nee and even to the ocean. 

In 1702, in the presence of Governor Bienville at 
old Mobile, chiefs of the Alabamas and Muscogees made 
terms of peace, and the Alabamas returned to the 
banks of their own river and became a part of the 
Creek confederacy. Remnants of another tribe from 
the distant Ohio, seeking a home, were soon after ad- 
mitted also as members of the same confederacj'. 
These were called Tookabatchas and they settled upon 
the Tallapoosa. The Tuscogees also, the Uchees, a 
remnant of the Natchez Indians, and other feeble 
tribes obtained homes among the powerful Muscogees, 
and thus this tribe became the head of a large Indian 
confederacy called the Creek nation. The name was 
taken from the little streams with which their country 
abounded. 

Tiie Creek or Muscogee warriors were tall, often ex- 
ceeding six feet in height, well formed, graceful, brave, 
proud, ambitious, restless; possessing large endurance, 
and were great travellers. 

The Creek women were short, well built, with fea- 
tures generally regular, having small hands and feet, 
the former said to have been " exquisitely shaped." 
Their brows were high and arched, their eyes large and 



112 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

black, their appearance indicating diffidence and mod- 
esty. Their hair was black and long, and was worn 
"plaited in wreaths." They wore many silver orna- 
ments, and also beads, feathers, porcupine quills, wam- 
pum, and ear-rings. They obtained various articles 
of dress, linen, calico, and broadcloth, from the trad- 
ers. Their original native dress is probably un- 
known. It must have been made of coarse cloth, 
feathers, furs, and leatlier. They were fond of dancing 
and music. ' In varieties of dancing steps they excelled. 

The native game of the Creeks was the noted In- 
dian "ball play," a very different game from the 
American "base ball." Their great festival was called 
the Green Corn Dance. The festival was held in July 
or August, being held eight days in the larger towns 
and only four in towns of less note. 

The general council of the nation was held in May, 
in the large public square of the principal town. 
Around this square were twelve houses, each large 
enough to hold sixty persons. Each large town had 
also its own square and public buildings where frequent 
assemblies were held for regulating their local affaii's. 

The town of Auttose contained a great council 
house, a "conical building," which would accommo- 
date many hundred people. In this, besides transacting 
public business, the inhabitants would assemble to take 
their black drink. When this peculiar drink, called 
"cacinatra," was passed round m large shells, tobacco 
and pipes were also distributed among the assembly. 

Lengthy descriptions of the Indian ball play have 
been given by different authorities. A few are still 
living in Clarke who have witnessed this exciting game. 
It must suffice here to say, that eighty or a hundred 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTH-EAST. 113 

warriors were chosen upon each side. Tlie ground was 
previously prepared, in the center of which were two 
poles between which poles the ball must pass to count 
one. The players were distant from the poles about 
one hundred and fifty yards, each furnished with two 
rackets having wooden handles about three feet long 
and furnished with a kind of hoop net, the netting 
made of strips of raw hide or some animal tendons. 
When the ball, which was covered with buckskin, was 
thrown into the air, the players rushed to catch it be- 
tween their rackets, and he who caught it ran and 
hurled it into the air, to get it near the poles. While 
so doing he might be tripped, seized hold of and the 
ball wrested from him, or any means adopted to pre- 
vent his making a successful throw. Thus the ball 
might ]3ass from one to another, he who caught it and 
those who came near, of the opposing sides, exposed 
alike to the danger of being thrown to the ground, 
trampled upon, and severely injured, in the fearful 
struggle that would at once take place. When at 
length the ball passed the two poles the side from 
which it came was declared the winning side.' 

From twelve, usually, to twenty times the ball must 
thus pass the poles, and the game would last for hours. 
The women in the meantime were watching with their 
gourds of water to refresh their favorite players. 
Ponies, jewels, wearing apparel, would be staked upon 
the issue of the game. These Indians would gamble 
on the strength and endurance of Indian muscle, as 
their civilized white brothers gamble on the speed and 
endurance of horseflesh. This Indian ball play, dan- 
gerous as it must have been, suited well the peculiar 
training of Indian warriors, and is said to have been 



114 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

"the most exciting and interesting name imaginable, 
* * * tlie admiration of all the curious and learned 
travellers who witnessed it." 

The Green Corn Dance seems to have been in some 
sort religious. On the hrst day new fire is obtained by 
means of friction. On the second day the men having 
rubbed themselves on different parts of the body with 
ashes from the new fire and bathed in the river, take 
the new corn which the women have prepared, rub it 
between their hands, on their faces, and on tlieir 
breasts, and then feast. On the fourth day the women 
take of the new fire ar.d kindle upon clean hearths their 
own houseliold fires. On the last day peculiar and 
lengthy ceremonies are observed with ashes obtained 
from corncobs and pine burs, clay, and fiowers of to- 
bacco ; and then follow curious ceremonies at the river 
where they wash at set of sun. Col. Benjamin Haw- 
kins who as American Agent, spent much time among 
the Creeks, says at the close of a minute description of 
this festival, "it is a general amnesty, which not only 
absolves the Indians from all crimes, murder excepted, 
but seems to bring guilt itself into oblivion." 

This Creek nation after a bloody and decisive con- 
test with American troops under Generals Claiborne, 
Coffey, Jackson, and Pinckney, at length ceded their 
lands to the United States in 1832, and after an occu- 
pancy of some two hundred and twelve years retired to 
that Indian Territory near the place where their town 
is said to have been in the sixteenth century. 

Although these tribes have all passed away toward 
the setting sun, back toward that region from whence 
according to traditions most of them formerly came, 
yet we may well say, 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTH-EAST, 115 

" Tlitnigli tht'ir bright canoes liave vanished 
From ofl' the crested wave ; 
Thougii 'mid tlie forests whore they roved, 
There rings no hunter's shout, — 
Yet their names are on our waters, 
And we may not wash tliem out." 

Of their "dialect of yore " which our everlasting 
waters speak, beautifully has an Alabama poet said: 

" 'Tis lieard wliere Chattahoochee pours 

His yellow tide along; 
It sounds on Tallapoosa's shores. 

And tJoosA swells the song; 
Where lordly Alabama sweeps. 

The symphony remains ; 
And young C'ahawija proudly keeps, 

The echo of its strains ; 
Where Tuscaloosa's waters glide. 

From stream and town 'tis Iieard, 
And dark Tombeckbee's winding tide 

Repeats the olden word; 
Afar where nature brightly wreathed 

Fit Edens (or the Free, 
Along Txjscumbia's bank 'tis breathed, 

By stately Tennessee; 
And south, where, from Conecuh's springs, 

EscAMiuA's waters steal, 
The ancient melody still rings, — 

From Tensaw and Mobile!" 

In this county of Clarke we have as Indian names 
on our bright streams Bashi, Tallahatta, Satilpa, Tatil- 
laba, and Ulcanush. 

The contact, for a hundred years, of white men with 
the Indian tribes has had its influence upon all these 
tribes. They are no longer simple, unsuspecting na- 
tives, the hospitable, generous friends that De Soto 
found ; no longer are they around their spacious tern- 



116 CLAKKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

pies, or on cushioned mattings, ornamented with strings 
of pearls. But thej still have their ball plays, their 
prophets and medicine men, and are children yet of 
the forest and the wild. Horses are no fierce mon- 
sters to them now. They can curb the fiery coursers 
with the daring of the ancient Spaniards. They now 
understand the use of iron, of powder, and of guns. A 
mixture of the white blood has given to them many dar- 
ing leaders^ wily chieftains, powerful warriors. A thou- 
sand whites can no longer conquer ten thousand of 
their bravest, proudest warriors. Th^y have had, too, 
during these hundred years zealous missionaries, Jesuit 
missionaries, Baptist missionaries, among them to in- 
struct them in Christianity, and lead them to adopt its 
principles and carry out its precepts ; but these have 
met with very slight success. The Indians of 1812 are for 
t he most part Pagan still ; if not idolaters, blind wor- 
shippers of the Great Spirit whom, as children of na- 
ture, they very imperfectly know. Surely if " the world 
by wisdom knew not God," how through ignorance 
could any be expected to find Him out ? 

The Indians had some belief in a future existence, 
b ut that belief had little efiect upon their lives. They 
were superstitious, credulous in respect to the claims of 
th eir prophets and medicine men ; they were fierce war- 
riors, often cruel, revengeful, and yet could be pleasant, 
peaceful, and magnanimous. 

Such were the Indians with whom these early set- 
tlers were to come in conflict, whose deeds of savage 
cruelty and blood they were soon to learn amid the 
beautiful Alabama forests. Before, however, entering 
upon these conflicts it seems desirable to examine briefly 
the general topography, and also the animals and the 



i:S"UIANS OF THE SOUTH-EAST. 117 

vegetable productions of these wilds, amid which are 
now |he peaceful homes of Clarke. 

S. Berney says that the Choctaws were removed in 
1S30; the Chickasaws in 1834; the Cherokees in 1836, 
and the Creeks in 1837. 

Brewer says that the Chickasaws ceded their lands in 
1816 and 1832; that the Choctaws ceded their territory 
at the treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in September 
1830; that the Creeks ceded to the United States "all 
their land east of the Mississippi river" at the treaty of 
Cusseta in 1 832, and that the Cherokees ceded all their 
lands in Alabama at the treaty of Xew Echota in De- 
cember, 1835, agreeing to remove within two years, and 
receiving $5,000,000 " and 7,000,000 acres of land in 
the West." 

OTHER HISTORICAL NOTES. 

From "Footprints of Time," by Chas. Bancroft: 

1832 — April 2, the Creek Indians sell all their lands 
east of the Mississippi river to the United States. 

1833 — September 30, the presence of the Indians in 
Mississippi, Alabama, Geoi-gia, and Florida produces so 
much conflict and so frequent a necessity for chastising 
them that they are in danger of total extermination. 
Gen. Jackson persuades Congress and the Indians to 
arrange for their removal to lands west of the Missis- 
sippi. Some of the Indians quietly remove this year. 
Many resist, but all are finally persuaded to this course 
by Gen. Scott and others, except the Seminoles, of 
Florida. 

1>'34 — October 2^, a conditional treaty with the 
Seminoles at Payne's Landing May 9, 1832, for their 
removal to the Indian Territory, west of the Missis- 
sippi, was afterward confirmed by the chiefs, but re- 
jected by the people. Gen. Thompson was sent, at 
this time, by President Jackson to insist on their carry- 
ing out the treaty. December 28, a council of the In- 
dians called by Gen. Thompson, seemingly accept the 
terms of the President. 



118 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

1835 — May 13, a treaty with the Cherokees pur- 
chases all their lands east of the Mississippi for $5,*262,- 
251, and ample lands in exchange in the Indian Terri- 
tory. 

June 3, Osceola, a Seminole chief, imprisoned by 
Gen. Thompson. 

December 28, the Seminoles killed their chief, Math- 
la, who had been prominent in making the obnoxious 
treaty, and suddenly attack a United States force under 
Gen. Dade.. The same day Gen. Thompson and others 
were surprised and massacred. 

1836 — Early in this year the Indians laid waste the 
whole country, burning the buildings, and killing all 
who had not taken refuge in the forts. 

February 11, Gen. Gaines lands an army at Tampa 
Bay. Indians remove their families and effects into 
the impenetrable swamps of the interior. 

May, the Creeks commence hostilities in their usual 
fierce and barbarous manner. Gen. Scott and the State 
authorities of Georgia subdue them early in the summer. 

1837 — ^ December 25, the battle of Okeechobee fought 
with the Seminoles in the swamps of Florida by Col. Z. 
Taylor. Indians defeated. 

1838 — The Cherokees complete their emigration to 
Indian Territory this year. 

1839 — Gen. Macomb makes a treaty early in this 
year with the Seminoles, which they very imperfectly 
kept. 

From Ridpath's History: 

The years 1837-38 were occupied by the final trans- 
fer of the Cherokees to their homes in the West. 

1839 — The Seminole chiefs sent in their submission 
and signed a treaty, but their removal to the West was 
made with much reluctance and delay. 

B. J. Lossing says: 

"The Mobilians, or (as they were sometimes called) 
the Floridian Indians, with whom as well as the lichees, 
De Soto came in contact toward the middle of the six- 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTH-EAST. 119 

teenth centurj', occupied a domain next in extent to the 
Algonquins." 

"The nation was divided into three confederacies 
* * * * known respectively as the Muscogee 
or Creek, the Choctaw, and the Chickasaw." 

One can hardly examine the authorities named at 
the beginning of this chapter, or weigh carefully the 
statements of the different writers, and note the differ- 
ences between the Choctaws and the Creeks, and con- 
sider the fierce conflicts waged between them, and study 
the accounts of De Soto's expedition, and rest satisfied 
with the statements of Lossing in regard to these In- 
dians of the South-East. 



CHAPTER V. 

GENERAL TOPOGRAPHY, FLORA, AND FAUNA OF CLARKE. 

IT is not designed to give here a perfectly exact and 
scientific delineation of every square mile of sur- 
face contained in tlie connty of Clarke. Such a task 
would require the labor of a topographic engineer. 
But a sufficiently accurate view will be given of the 
main features of this tract of land to enable the gen- 
eral reader, with the aid of the map, to look upon its 
surface with all the minuteness of knowledge needful 
for the purposes contemplated in this volume. 

Commencing at the south, at the Island of Nanna- 
hubba and extending up to Hal's Lake, the land is 
comparatively low, quite level, covered with the swamp 
timber, and with a dense growth of canebrake. This 
heavy canebrake growth may be considered as extend- 
ing to the north limit of township four, and this whole 
narrow, river-bounded strip, as far north as Carney's 
Landing on the one river and Choctaw Bluff on tlie 
other, is known especially as the Fork. This cane- 
brake region is excellent for pasturage, when not too 
wet, and has been and still is a noted haunt for wild 
black bears. What it was in the days of Tuskaloosa's 
dominion, three hundred and thirty-seven years ago, is 
unknown; but as it was seventy-seven years ago, in the 
days of the Choctaws so it still remains. A few bear 
hunters, taking their supplies from Mobile, their boats 
and equipments being taken up the river by steamers. 



GENERAL TOPOGRAPHY. 121 

spend mouths within its solitudes. He who wishes to 
meet the American black bear in his own native forest 
and hear the peculiar sound of this wild beast rushing 
from his lair amid a dense growth of cane, can find 
him in this fork. Such an explorer will need to be 
well armed. His own progress through the canes, 
even with bruin at his heels, will not be rapid. 

Commencing at the eastern part of Hal's Lake, 
near the second range line east, an irregular line on the 
map proceeds northward, bearing sliglitlj eastward, and 
at lengtli toward the north-west to the Choctaw corner, 
on the north line of the county. This line crosses no 
water. It marks the dividing ritlge betwe n the waters 
of the two rivers, and was at one time the boundary be- 
tween Choctaw and Muscogee or Creek, the first eastern 
boundary of the county, its boundary during the Creek 
War. It passes along some heights of land, over some 
limestone ridges, and the traveller who follows it will 
find now and then a beautiful prospect, as he looks over 
the eastern and the western valleys. From near this 
dividing line water courses start, innumerable springs 
feeding rivulets, which, uniting, form creeks flowing 
eastward, or westward and southward, into the neigh- 
boring rivers. 

Passing from Carney's Landing northward, on the 
west side of the water shed, Salt Creek and near it 
Snlt Mountain will soon be reached. Salt Mountain is 
quite a large and noted elevation, and for miles toward 
the north-west, heights once well wooded extend, ex- 
cepting always the creek valleys or bottoms; table 
lands and occasional hills extend northward to Dead 
Level or Clarkesville. Westward, then, toward Satilpa 
Creek is a range of rocky hills, and from Coffeeville 



122 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

northward a large plateau broken by many small creeks 
whicli flow into the Tombigbee. Toward Bashi in 
township eleven, range one east, is the Mountain, with 
a steep and rocky ascent from the north-east, an almost 
imperceptible decline toward the west and south. 
Through Bashi and to Choctaw Corner is a range of 
lime hills; and from Bashi south-east to the vicinity of 
Grove Hill is a range of hills which passes south-west- 
ward to Clarkesville, and from Tallahatta Creek a range 
extends eastward across the county. On the east side 
of the Dividing Ridge are many lime hills, short creeks 
flowing into the Alabama, table lands, and valleys. 
The central portion of the county is quite high and 
level, occasionally broken by a stream of crystal water. 
Tens of thousands of streams and rivulets, forming 
hundreds of creeks and little rivers, water abundantly 
these twelve hundred square miles of surface, although 
of course the traveller along the main water shed, or 
from the Mountain south-westward to Coffeeville, or 
from Grove Hill to Jackson, a distance of seventeen 
miles, will cross few of them. Along nearly every 
other road and in almost every other direction he will 
find streams in abundance. In many places the banks 
of these streams are beds of solid rocks, forming nat- 
ural walls for some of the finest mill seats in the whole 
land; and of nearly all the streams the water is clear 
and cool, fed perpetually by living springs. Along 
the two large rivers, bottom lands, subject more or less 
to overflows, and covered with the dense swamp growth 
of this latitude, extend in a belt averaging about a mile 
in width. The soil of a large part of the upland is 
sandy. 

The vegetable growth of this county, its flora, is 



GENERAL TOPOGRAPHY. 123 

abundant and various. The cl)aracteristic tree is the 
long-leaved or needle pine, also known as the Broom 
Pine, Phius Palustris sometimes called Australis, 
which grows on a sand}' soil and only on the table 
lands. Two other varieties of pine, short-leaved, are 
also quite common, the old field pine and the pond 
pine. In the nortli-east of the county, and extending 
into Wilcox, is a heavy growth of beech. Other vari- 
eties of trees are white oak, post oak, overcup oak, 
water oak, willow oak, black jack, Spanish oak, red 
oak, and black oak. 

Some of these oaks are very large. The circumfer- 
ence of some of the swamp white oaks is said to be 
over thirty feet. They are about eighty feet in height. 

A red oak in the yard of Mrs. Pogue shows a rapid 
growth. It was only a sapling, which the children 
climbing into could bend to the ground, about fifty 
years ago. Now it is seventeen feet in circumference, 
and its top shades an area whose diameter is seventy 
feet. A red oak near the residence of John Hill in 
Good Springs beat measures twenty-six feet and three 
inches in circumference. In Wilcox county, not far 
from Clifton, in the swamp about a mile from the mouth 
of Beaver Creek, is a red oak measured by J. C. Hicks, 
which measured forty-three feet in circumference five 
feet from the ground. The oaks grow luxuriantly in 
the villages and around many private residences. In 
Jackson, Suggs ville. Grove Hill, and Choctaw Corner, 
are some magnificent oaks which appear to good advan- 
tage among the surrounding pines. A very stately, 
regularly shaped, and broad spreading oak, stands on 
the grounds of Judge Woodard at Grove Hill ; and 
others with lofty tops mark at a distance the attractive 



124 CLAKKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

liome of Colonel Dickinson. The rapidity of growth of 
these village oaks is remarkable. 

Other varieties of trees are sweet gum, sour-wood, 
black gum, dog-wood, chestnut, chincapin, hickory, 
red-bud, persimmon, green bay, cucumber, mulberry, 
magnolia, poplar, tulip, elm, sassafras, holly, red ash, 
black walnut, sweet bay, basswood, palmetto, red cedar, 
and cypress. There are some veiy valuable cedar ham- 
mocks, which will be mentioned elsewhere, and in the 
river swamps some dense cypress shades, the gnarled 
roots of these trees, growing on the surface of the 
ground and known as cypress knees, being very pecu- 
liar. 

The evergreen magnolia has very rich dark green 
leaves and beautiful white blossoms. The leaves of the 
cucumber tree are very large, but are not evergreen. 
The blossoms also are much larger than the magnolia, 
also white, but not so beautiful. 

The shrubs and bushes are calycanthns or sweet 
shrub, honeysuckle, paw-paw, haw, black and yellow, 
spice-wood, sloe, winter huckleberry, sumach, goose- 
berry, not the plant so-called in the ISTorth, alder, ivy, 
witch-hazel, and other varieties. An exhaustive enu- 
meration is difficult. One of tliese shrubs or bushes 
not yet named is called Old Man's Gray Beard. It is 
a singular plant. Among smaller plants are the sensi- 
tive plant, the passion flower, tnrkey berry, jessamine, 
bear grass, broom-straw, and Spanish moss. Wild 
grapes, muscadines, ratan, and many running vines are 
found in the creek and river bottoms. One of them is 
called the cross-vine. It has a porous stem and divides 
readily into four divisions. The blossoms have a red- 
dish hue and are pretty. Many small plants and creep- 



GENERAL TOPOGRAPHY. 125 

ing vines, having pretty blossoms and attractive foliage, 
plants which belong to a semi-tropical climate and aid 
in filling the balnij air with fragrance and the thick- 
tangled undergrowth of the water courses with bright- 
ness and beauty, are not here enumerated. These, 
during the winter months, amid the beautiful green of 
bay and magnolia, fill these river forests with vegetable 
life and freshness. One characteristic growth of a large 
area should not be omitted here, the cane-brake of the 
ancient Florida, which once covered so much of this 
county, with the exception of the pine table-lands, and 
which when young and tender affords such excellent 
food for deer and cattle and Indian ponies. It is 
now confined to the river bottom lands, especially to 
that part of the county called the Fork. When having 
attained two or three years growth it makes long and 
durable fishing poles ; and he who has seen and heard 
a cane-brake on tire, with a strong wind blowing, will 
not soon forget the grandeur of the conflagration. In 
the stillness and amid the darkness of the forest night 
the sounds of approaching stranger or wild beast through 
a dense growth of cane will startle the timid listener. 
It would be of interest to know the varieties of trees 
and shrubs and wild flowers which the Spaniards saw 
when they passed across this native home of the Mo- 
bilians. But De Soto seems to have had no botanist 
among his followers; indeed the science itself scarcely 
goes back so far as the sixteenth century. Very few of 
the trees now standing can be considered four hun- 
dred years of age. It was not amid the present vege- 
table growth that Tuskaloosa's subjects dwelt in peace. 
The vines, and flowering shrubs, and forest monarchs 
of that day, moldered as did their human contempor- 



1:?6 CLAKKK ANP 11^ SURROUNDINGS. 

arios: : vor wo tujiv conjecture fivm the present the tloral 
beautv and grandeur of the past. Of this however we 
may be sure, that nianv of the tall pines and broad 
Oivks and large sycamores of the present, sentineled 
these hills when Muscogees and Choctaws met in 
deadly strife or smoked together the pipe of peace. 

If not in this county, yet in this same historic region 
was that ** Magnolia Grove," of which Meek in his 
poem says: 

"Bright memoriees uh», to ihe^ belong. 
And ihrvHigh thy Wwer* ai twilight thnwg. 
Here ix^ved the clark-t>yt\l Choctaw maid. 
And wove her Kner's wampum braid ; 
Here came the laughing girls of Frant-e, 
And siumy S^vaiu. with love-lit glance; 
Till lai't of all. with hearts more true 
Oune eye* that gleam in iSaxon bine : 
What rt»pturv>us scents of joy and love 
IL^st thou WUeld. Magnolia Grove." 

The magnolia blossoms still remain, and here jvlso 
remain, with true hearts, the eyes of Stvson blue. 

The wild animals, the fauna, of this cv»unty, as 
known for a hundred years, may be briefly if not fully 
enumerated. The larger and more dangerous denizens 
of the forest were bears, the common American black 
bear, black and gray wolves, panthers, and wildcats or 
catamounts. Deer jfnd wild turkeys have abounded. 
Raccoons, op*.>ssums, and foxes, rabbits, and squirrels 
continue to be abundant. The principal furred animals 
are the beaver, otter, and mink. There is probably no 
part of the United States, where white men have lived 
for a hundred years, and so near to the great marts 
of commerce, where beaver so abound, as in the county 
of Clarke. Trappers who would like to try their skill 
upon the intelligent and cunning beaver would do well 



OENEIiAL TOPOGIlAPJIi'. 127 

to Bperid tho wintor niontliH upon t\i(i littlo tributaries 
oftlic lower 'i'ornbi/^bee. TheBC animalf- are bo annoy- 
ing and destructive that Buch trappers would find a 
ready welcome among tlie plantations beside these 
streams. Among the smaller animals is one of singu- 
lar habits called a salamander. This is a "pouched rat," 
living under ground, found in the pine woods, and 
where the soil is the least productive. The traces by 
which the presence of this animal is known are small 
heaps of sand resembling "ant-hills," a foot or more 
in diameter, circular, and from three to six feet apart, 
proceeding in straight and sometimes in curved lines. 
These salamander hills extend for quite a distance. The 
animal himself is rarely seen. He works at night or in 
the early morning ; making when at work three or four 
hillocks each morning, but closing up his work before 
the sunrise. When the hillock is finished no opening 
appears ; but when the animal is at work there is an 
opening in the center two or three inches in diameter, 
and every few moments tlie head of the salamander can 
be seen as he brings up the sand from beneath, scatters 
it upon the surface, and quickly retires out of sight. 
There is evidently a communication from one hillock 
to the other beneath the surface, and these animals 
probably have, like moles, long run-ways. They have 
a mole color. Few seem to know their habits or on 
what they feed. 

Another singular little native, frequently seen, is the 
color-changing chameleon, which, according to a poet's 
story, is sometimes green, blue, black, and then white. 
It is interesting to see this little "lizard-like reptile" 
catch insects and change color. Among larger and 
dangerous reptiles may be named alligators, yellow 



128 CLARKE AXD ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

rattlesnakes, and moccosins. These rattlesnakes attain 
a large size and are very poisonons. Tlie coach-wldp 
snake, a native also, is very long and slim. 

Harmless lizards and different varieties of small ser- 
pents may be often seen, also terrapins and tortoises, 
and need no special mention among the fanna of Clarke. 
Native birds are abundant, among which are that noted 
child of song the mocking-bird, the beautiful red-bird, 
and humming-birds of exquisite beauty and grace, also 
the hawk,' the buzzard, the Dutch whip-poor-will, and 
night-hawk, also that variety of grouse sometimes ca-lled 
partridge, but more properly known as quail, called 
also bob-white. 

(In January, 1852, there was an immense pigeon 
roost, about six miles south of Choctaw Corner. The 
pigeons came in, toward night-fall, from their foraging 
expeditions by hundreds and by thousands. They broke 
down, sometimes, the branches of the pine trees with 
their weight. Hundreds of them were killed by neigh- 
bornig and more distant sportsmen. In the same sea- 
son the robins were very numerous. North-east of 
Clay Hill, in the edge of Marengo, there is a small 
reed-marsh, or brake, covering about iifty acres. 
Shrubs, cane, and bogs abound here. Walking across 
this is said to be rather dangerous, or at least difhcult. 
Here the robins came in large flocks. They took pos- 
session of the shrubs and reeds literally by the thou- 
sands. Some blackbirds, probably those known in the 
West as red-wings, were among the robins. Possibly 
some bobolinks. These robins the people did not shoot; 
but some would take them at night with a brush broom 
bv the dozen. It is said that robins have not been seen 
in that vicinity in such abundance since. 



GENERAL TOPOGRAPHY. 129 

In the winter of 1853 and 1854, j)robably in January, 
robins were very numerous, in flocks of hundreds if not 
thousands, in the south part of the county, near the 
Tonibigbee. The red-winged blackbirds were also quite 
abundant. The wild ducks make that locality a place 
of resort probably every winter. With H. Austill, now 
Chancellor at ]\Iobile, "W. Drane, of Lowndes, Henry 
Austill, and S. T. (now Captain) Woodard, the author 
enjoyed, in the winter above named, many a hunt, and 
boat ride, and 'possum hunt at night, and plantation 
visit, in the neighborhood of Carney's or Gullet's Bluff. 
Ducks and robins will often be there again, but not 
there again on the Saturday holidays will be that teacher 
and those boys.) 

1879 — Two white deer have this summer been seen 
near the Alabama river. The word has gone out among 
the colored people that whoever shoots those deer 
"will never more go home." So, for the present, the 
deer remain unharmed. 

Within the last twelve months, in the Robinson 
neighborhood on Bassetts Creek, a few neighbors who 
have twelve dogs have caught forty-seven wild cats. 

All warm climates have their annoyances, all beauti- 
ful regions of earth have their dangers or their vexa- 
tions ; earth is not paradise as yet. The spicy breezes 
that blow so soft o'er Ceylon's isle blow where the 
deadly cobra de capello enters the voluptuous home. 
And here where the mocking-bird sings, where humming- 
birds dart from tlower to flower on their glittering 
wings, where the air is full of fragrance and existence 
seems enjoyment, here are three little vexatious things, 
the red-bug, the tick, and the flea. Yery small, very 
insignificant little things, yet sometimes very annoying. 



130 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

One must learn their habits and their haunts, and so 
avoid them. 

The rivers and the creeks furnish fish of various 
kinds, some of which are quite large, and nearly all are 
desirable varieties for food. 

This view of the surface of the land, and this enu- 
meration, if not complete, of the native plants and an- 
imals, will indicate sufficiently the desirableness of the 
region into which the Georgia and Carolina, the Vir- 
ginia and Kentucky, and the Tennessee emigrants came, 
and for the peaceable possession of which they were 
soon compelled to contend with the murderous and 
savage Creeks. 



CHAPTER VI. 

CLARKE COUNTY, 1812-1820. THE CREEK WAR. GROWTH. 

IT was stated, in the third chapter of this work, that 
an act of the Legislature of the Mississippi Terri- 
tory called into existence December 10, 1812, the new 
county of Clarke. 

The county then comprised that part of Washing- 
ton lying east of the Tombeckbee. It extended east- 
ward only to the "water-shed," that dividing line be- 
tween the Choctaws and the Creeks. Along part of 
this line there is now a carriage road known as the Line 
Road. Within this formerly disputed territory, and 
up to the very line then acknowledged to be the boun- 
dary of the Creek Nation, many enterprising settlers 
had reared their cabins and commenced their homes. 

About the year 1800 a brisk migration had begun 
from Georgia and the Carolinas, through the Creek 
country, to the Mississippi Territory. Samuel Dale, 
then a Georgian, placed three wagons and teams on 
this route of migration, transporting families west- 
ward and taking back to Savannah loads of Indian 
produce. In 1803 a road was marked out through the 
Cherokee nation. In 1809 Caleb Moncrief with a num- 
ber of families settled on the west side of Bassett's 
Creek. Many others came during these few years and 
settled near Old Clarksville, Grove Hill, at Suggs- 



13-2 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

villo, and iu other parts of the county. The names of 
many of these families will be found among the Family 
Records and Sketches. 

In 1812 Dale removed Col. J. Phillips and family 
to Point Jackson, on the Tombigbee, started his teams 
back to Georgia, and went himself to Pensacola. West 
Florida proper, it is to be remembered, was still a 
Spanish possession, and Spain continued to hold, as a 
part of We.st Florida, all south of hititude 31^, between 
the Perdido and the Mississippi, until 1813. 

By act of Congress jNla}' 14, 1812, the territory ly- 
ing east of Pearl river, west of the Perdido, and south 
of the thirty-first degree of latitude, was annexed to 
the Mississippi territory. 

The Spaniards however did not give this territory 
up till forced so to do in 1813. These river settlements 
were therefore, up to this time, " completely insulated.'" 
On the south were the Spaniards, on the east were the 
Creeks, on the west, between them and the Natchez 
and Yazoo settlements, were the Choctaws, and on 
tlie north the nearest settlement was in the bend of the 
Tennessee. 

The intelligent reader lias already seen the peculiar 
circumstances which caused this locality to become the 
first part of the great state of Alabanui to receive An- 
glo-American settlers.* 

In June of 1813 Dale remt>ved Judsfe Safibld and 



* '■ Tho lin_>;oriug dynasty of the Spaniard fadf.-^ iuto the morning dawn of An- 
glo-Saxon settlonionts in our state."' 

" The various treaties of the French, British and Spanish, with the nidians, 
made this region the resort of the lirst emigrants. The experiences of this back- 
woods life, for more than twenty years, were quite as singular and wonderful 
as those of Boone and Kenton in Kentucky, or Sevier and Kobertson in Ten- 
nessee." — MEKli. 



THE CREEK WAR. 133 

family to the Tombigbee. On this trip Dale learned 
from a half-breed Creek, called Sam Mariac, that the 
Creeks were getting arms from the Spaniards at Pensa- 
cola — then the great place of trade for Indians and for 
the white settlers — and that when sufficiently furnished 
with guns, powder and lead, "the Indians on the Coosa, 
Tallapoosa, and Black Warrior would attack the settle- 
ments in the forks of Tombigbee and Alabama." Dale, 
who had himself become a resident in Clarke, made 
good use of this information. 

THE CliEEK WAR. 

We now reach the period of bloodshed. 

Says Pickett : " Everything foreboded the extermi- 
nation of the Americans in Alabama, who were the most 
isolated and defenceless people imaginable." But in 
this little settlement were many brave Anglo-Saxon 
hearts, men, women and children, inured to the ways 
of the wilderness. The Callers, the Austills, the 
Creaghs, were here ; and he whom the Indians knew 
as Big Sam, "the Daniel Boone of Alabama," the man 
whom the "Red Men of Alabama knew" well, and 
whose prowess they dreaded; who was "inured from 
his boyhood to Indian conflicts on the frontiers of 
Georgia, and early trained to all the wiles and strata- 
gems of savage warfare, winning the highest character 
for dauntless courage, vigilance and strength ; " he 
was among these border men as a leader. And Clai- 
borne, and Coffee, and Jackson were coming. There 
was need of help, and would be need for all the ex- 
perience and coolness of the elder Austill, all the sagac- 
ity and heroism of the younger Austill, and for the 



134 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

endurance and bravery of every pioneer settler, as the 
period now arrived of what Meek calls "the most ter- 
rific and destructive Indian wars that have ever oc- 
curred in the United States," of which, in an oration, 
he says: "Time as it passed on and filled these soli- 
tudes with settlers, at last brought the most sanguinary 
era in Alabama history." 

A fierce civil war began in 1813 to rage among the 
Creeks themselves. In 1811 was cut out, by Lieuten- 
ant Luckett with a party of soldiers, that public road 
through the Creek Territory, which was called the 
"Federal Road," which extended from the Chatta- 
hoochie river to Mim's ferry upon the Alabama, and 
which was then "filled, from one end to the other," 
with parties bound for the Western settlements. To 
this road and this migration a part of the Creeks were 
strongly opposed. The Spaniards also disliked this 
stream of migration, and excited the Indians to acts of 
hostility. British agents also were among them en- 
couraging the war spirit. Of all these the most power- 
ful was the noted Indian chief, Tecumseh. After con- 
ferring with the British at Detroit, Tecumseh, with 
thirty warriors mounted on horses, left the Kortli, and 
visited the Southern Indians. He stirred up the 
Chickasaws, a part of the Choctaws, the Seminoles, 
and some of the Creeks, to take part against the Ameri- 
cans in that war which Great Britain was then waging. 
He met with the Creeks in October of 1812. In his 
bloody mission he was far too successful. In June, of 
1813, civil war commenced among the Creeks, one part 
remaining friends of the United States Government, 
the others determined to exterminate the Americans. 
One of the leaders of the war party was the great 



THE CREEK WAR. 135 

Muscogee Chieftain, William Weatherford, called 
bv Meek "one of the most remarkable men, whether 
savage or civilized, which the American hemisphere 
has produced." French, Indian and British blood was 
in his veins. 

"The Thirty Battles," which Weatherford fought 
against the Americans under Generals Claiborne, 
Flournoy, and Jackson, ending with a treaty in August, 
1814, do not belong to this narrative. 

Our interest is with the settlers in the fork. Ru- 
mors of Indian outbreaks and bloodshed had reached 
them, and they began to avail themselves of the best 
means they could devise for self-defence. In April of 
1813 Gen. Wilkinson with six hundred troops, acting 
under orders from Washington City, had taken pos- 
session of the Spanish claims, from the Perdido river 
to the Pearl. The Spanish garrison at Mobile had re- 
tired to Pensacola. Gen, Flournoy succeeded Wilkin- 
son in command. The river settlers petitioned the 
governor of the territory for troops to aid them against 
the Creeks, but Flournoy refused to send any of the 
regulars or even of the volunteers. The settlers there- 
fore hastily erected stockades which were called forts, 
and sent spies to Pensacola to watch the movements of 
the Indians there. It was soon reported that a party of 
Indians had burned the corn crib and destroyed other 
property of J.Cornells, a man of mixed blood, who had 
exchanged his beautiful Indian niece for a white man's 
wife; that they had taken that wife as a prisoner to Pen- 
sacola; and having been furnished with an abundance of 
military supplies, were about to return with their well- 
loaded pack-horses. It is said that besides a large 
immber of arms, they had "one hundred horse-loads of 



136 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

ammunition." Colonel James Caller, of Washington 
county, ordered out the militia, and headed an expedi- 
tion to attack this returning party. The result was the 
first battle of the bloody Creek war, and is known as 
the battle of Burnt Corn. It took place at a ford of 
Burnt Corn Creek. Colonel Caller crossed the river 
at St, Stephens, July 25, with three small companies, 
imder Captains Bailey, Heard, Benjamin Smoot, and 
David Cartwright. Patrick May was lieutenant of Cap- 
tain Smoot' s company. They passed through Jackson 
and started eastward for the Alabama. They were reen- 
forced by a Clarke county company, Samuel Dale Cap- 
tain, G. W. Creagh, Lieutenant. Others also joined 
in the expedition led by Wm. McGrew, Robert Caller, 
and William Bradberry. All were mounted on good 
frontier horses and were armed with their own trusty 
rifles and shot-guns. They camped on the Alabama 
the first night. In the morning, July 26, they crossed 
that river, the horses swimming beside the canoes. 
They marched south-eastward to the cow-pens of David 
Tait, where they were again reenforced by a company 
from Tensaw Lake and Little River, commanded by an 
educated, courageous, energetic half-breed Creek, Dix- 
on Bailey. The whole force now numbered one hun- 
dred and eighty men. They went on to the wolf-trail, 
and camped for the night, having now reached the 
main route to Pensacola. In the morning of July 
27 reorganizing the command by the election of Phill- 
ips, McFarlin, Wood, and Jourdan, as majors, and 
Wm. McGrew as lieutenant-colonel, they advanced to- 
wards Pensacola to meet the Indians. They came 
upon the returning party a little before noon, as they 
were halted for dinner. The Indian encampment was 



THE CREEK WAR. 137 

beside a large spring near Burnt Corn Creek, and the 
pack-horses were quietly grazing, Unperceived by the 
Indians Caller's men drew near and charged suddenly 
upon them, pouring in, at the same time, a destructive 
fire. The Indians were driven to the creek and back 
into the swamp, but while some of the men were cap- 
turing and leading oif the pack-ponies, the Creeks re- 
turned from the swamp with war-clubs, tomahawks, and 
guns, and charged in turn, with fierce war cries, upon 
their assailants. Colonel Caller now ordered his men to 
fall back to a more secure position on the hill, a panic 
seized many of them and ihey fell hack so far that no 
further orders could reach them. About eighty men 
remained at the foot of the hill, under the captains 
Dale, Bailey, and Smoot, contending desperately with 
the enraged Creeks. At length all the Americans 
found it needful to retreat. At the first attack they 
had dismounted, and all, who could, now secured their 
horses, while others, less fortunate, retired on foot. 
Some of the last to leave this disastrous field were 
lieutenants May, Creagh, Bradberry, private Ambrose 
Miles, and Glass. The latter fired the last gun on the 
American side. Dale, and Creagh, and Bradberry, and 
twelve others were wounded. Two only were killed. 
The retreat continued all the night. The command 
never met again for roll-call. Each man mustered 
himself out of service and returned, as best he could, 
to defend his own home. Colonel Caller and Major 
"Wood, retiring on foot, became lost in the river bot- 
tom, finally separated, and after about two week's of 
exposure and privations, were found almost in a fam- 
ished condition and restored to their friends. 

The Indians lost most of their supplies and ammu- 



138 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Tiition, a number were killed, and the remainder re- 
turned for new military stores to Pensacola. 

Cornells' wife, whom the Indians sold in Pensacola 
for a blanket, was redeemed, sent to Mobile, and after- 
ward restored to her husband. 

And now the men of Clarke prepared to meet the 
inroads of the Creeks and breast the storm of battle. 
Men, women, and children, leaving their cabins and 
clearings, assembled within the stockades. 

General F. L. Claiborne, who as an ensign had been 
in General "Wayne's army in his great battle witli the 
Indians of the North, was ordered by General Flournoy, 
in July, to march with his army to Fort Stoddart. He 
reached Mount Yernon, near the Mobile river, with 
seven hundred men, July 30. He at once obtained as 
accurate information as was possible concerning the 
Burnt Corn engagement, the designs of the Indians, 
and the preparations made in the Fork. He learned 
about the stockades around the residences of Sinque- 
iield. Glass, White, and Lavier ; also of those at 
Gullet's Bluff on the Tombeckbee, also called Carney's 
Fort, and at Easley's Station. He sent Colonel Carson 
with two hundred mounted men to Fort Glass. He 
sent Captain Scott with a company of men to St. 
Stephens, who occupied the old Spanish block-house. 
jS^ear Fort Glass, a few hundred yards northward, a 
new stockade was immediately constructed called. Fort 
Madison. James Madison was at this time President 
of the United States. 

1. Fort Madison was situated in the north-east corner 
of section one, in township six, range three east, four 
and a half miles south, and about one mile and a half 
west, of the village of Suggsville, on the dividing ridge. 



THE CREEK WAR. 139 

It covered about one acre of ground. A trench was 
dug around the outside limit, three feet in depth, and 
into this the bodies of pine trees were inserted, side by 
side, cut about fifteen feet in length. A continuous 
wall of pines, some twelve feet in height, therefore sur- 
rounded the enclosure. Within were the tents and 
cabins of the neighboring settlers. Colonel Carson's 
company occupied Fort Glass. 

2. FoET SiNQUEFiELD was built in the same manner, 
but was smaller than Fort Madison. It was nine miles 
and a quarter north from the latter, and a half mile 
west, being in section thirteen, township eight, range 
three east, and nearly five miles south-east from Grove 
Flill. It occupied a height of ground which extends 
north and south for a mile. Eastward is a gentle slope, 
the valleys and ridges terminating in the Bassett's 
Creek Yalley. Westward' are some deep valleys be- 
tween large and high ridges of laud. There is no real 
hill within miles of the fort locality, yet the ascent 
from any of the valleys near, to the height of the ridge, 
might easily be called going up a hill. The fort spring 
is westward in one of the deep valleys, and is distant 
from the stockaded ground two hundred and seventy- 
five yards. Towards the north-west, ninety feet distant, 
are some graves. There were two sassafras trees be- 
side these graves, but they are now fallen and decay- 
ing. It would seem to be appropriate for the county 
authorities to place an enclosure around this old burial 
ground. 

No traces of the old stockade are now visible, ex- 
cept two posts six inches in diameter, the one being 
one inch and the other two inches above the present 
surface of the ground. They are firmly imbedded in 



140 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

the earth, and the wood lias held its texture well. 
Large persimmon trees are growing here now, and 
on the old fort locality is now the residence of Mrs. 
Hickson. 

3. Fort White was a short distance north-east of 
Grove Hill, on what became afterwards the Alston 
place, now the residence of Elijah P. Chapman. 

4. Carney's Fort called by Pickett Fort Hawn, 
was on the Tombigbee, at Gullet's Bluff, a few miles 
below Jackson, nearly south "from that place, and on 
the route to Mount Yernon. 

5. McGrew's Fort was nearly north of Old St. 
Stephens, in the corner of section one, township seven, 
range one west. The area enclosed with palisades was 
about two acres. Some posts still remain. Around it 
is now an old field. One of the McGrews is said to be 
buried here. His name wa:s cut on an old holly tree 
now standing. 

6. Landrum's Fort was on section eighteen, town- 
ship eight, range two east, now in Good Springs beat. 

Y. Mott's Fort was in the same neighborhood. 

8. Turner's Fort was near the residence of Abner 
Turner at West Bend. It was built of split pine logs 
doubled, and contained two or three block houses. It 
was held by the citizens of that neighborhood, in all 
thirteen men and some boys. 

9. Easley's Fort was on the Tombigbee river, in 
section eleven, township eleven, range one, west, at 
what is now called Wood's Bluff. The bluff was 
named after its former owner Major Wood, an ofiicer in 
the battle of Burnt Corn. The fort was about one hun- 
dred yards above the bluff landing, on an elevated level 
tract of land, a small plateau, which contained about 



THE CREEK WAR. 141 

three acres. On the side next to the river the bluff is 
nearly perpendicular, "a bold spring of water flowing 
from its side," and above and below the fort the de- 
scent is quite abrupt making the position naturally 
strong. The fort was named from an early resident, 
" an old and prominent citizen," who had four sons, 
Warham, Samuel, Rhode, and Edward or Ked. 

10. Powell's Fort was near Oven Bluif. The 
families of John McCaskey, of James Powell, of John 
Powell, and about three others, were in this small fort 
distant a mile from the river. After the fall of Fort 
Mims these families went to Carney's Fort and then to 
Mt. Yernoji. 

11. FoKT Glass has been already named as situated 
near Fort Madison, south of Suggsville. 

12. Lavier's Fort is named by Pickett, but its lo- 
cality seems to be now uncertain. It may liave been 
south-east from Suggsville. 

13. Cato's Fort was on the west side of the river, 
about a mile from the bank, and some five miles below 
Coffeeville. 

14. Ranki^t's Fort was still further west in Wash- 
ington county, the last of the group of stockades 
westward. 

Within and around these stockade forts the settlers 
gathered, with their hunting dogs, and such stock as 
could be collected and protected, after the battle of 
Burnt Corn. It was known that the Creeks were de- 
signing to attack these exposed settlements, and none 
knew where the first war-whoop would be heard. 

The inhabitants along the Ten saw and on Little 
River had become alarmed for their own safety, united 
although so many of them were to the Creeks by the 



142 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

the ties of blood, and had gathered at Lake Tensaw. 
Here, around the residence of Samuel Mims, one- 
fourth of a mile from the Boat Yard, one mile from the 
Alabama river, and two miles below the Cut-OfF, a 
stockade was erected enclosing one acre. It was 
nearly square and could be entered through a large 
eastern and a western gate. The location was poorly 
chosen. A number of buildings were within the en- 
closure, and the whole imperfect preparation for de- 
fense was called Fokt Mims. 

Its horrible fate teaches some instructive lessons. 
Against Fort Mims, as the most eastern stronghold 
of the Americans, Weatherford was marching with a 
thousand warriors. To defend it Lieutenant Osborne 
had been sent from Mount Yernon with sixteen men. 
One hundred and seventy -five volunteers were sent 
soon after, under the command of Major Daniel 
Beasley. Seventy home militia under Captain Dixon 
Bailey, already in the fort, became a part of Major 
Beasley's force, making in all two hundred and sixty- 
tive men. The fort now contained five hundred and 
fifty-three human beings, including officers and soldiers, 
whites, colored people, and Indians. It was August, 
the land was low, the river swamp near, and sick- 
ness prevailed. On the seventh of August General 
Claiborne arrived at Fort Mims. He inspected the 
works, addressed a general order to Major Beasley " to 
strengthen the picketing, build two more block-houses, 
respect the enemy, to send out scouts frequently, and 
allow the suffering people provisions, whether whites 
or friendly Indians." General Claiborne returned to 
Mount Vernon and sent frequently to Major Beasley, 
urging him to be prepared for an attack from the In- 



THE CREEK WAR. 143 

dians. The latter "greatly weakened Lis command 
by sending small detachments to forts Madison, Eas- 
ley, Pierce, and Joshua Kennedy's saw-mill, where 
citizens had collected, and asked for assistance." 

Fort Pierce was a small stockade two miles south- 
east of Fort Minis. 

Day after day passed and yet no Indians appeared 
before Fort Mims. The commanding officer became 
grossly careless. He allowed the sand to accumulate 
before the eastern gate so that it would be impossible 
to close it suddenly in the event of a surprise. Meek 
speaks of him as " unflinchingly brave," but " vain, 
rash, inexperienced, and over-confident." He adds: 
"In vain did several of the most experienced and cau- 
tious of the backwoodsmen give warning of impending 
danger; in vain even did a hostile warrior the very even- 
ing before, apprise some of his relatives in the fortress 
of the intended attack; in vain did two negroes declare 
that they had seen twenty warriors painted for battle, 
in the vicinity of the fort. Major Beasley would listen 
to no remonstrance, but steadily refused to keep the 
gate of the fortress shut, and permitted the inmates to 
wander unrestrained along the banks of the Lake." 

At length the morning of August 30 dawned. 
"The sun rose, beautiful and with a dewy coolness, 
over the forests of needle-leaved pines that extended 
off to the east, and concealed beneath their high and 
shafted arcades the grimly-painted and fast-approach- 
ing warriors of Weatherford and McQueen. In the 
fort all was confidence and hilarity.'' 

Says Pickett: "The inmates had become inactive, 
free from alarm, and abandoned themselves to fun and 
frolic." Seldom have fun and frolic^ been more ill- 
timed. 



144 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

The massacre which had been averted from the 
Teiisaw settlement in 1790, by the vigilance and daring 
of Mrs. Sophia Durant, an Indian, was now coming 
swiftly and fearfully upon them, through their own 
negligence. 

The two negroes mentioned by Meek were herding 
beef cattle a few miles from the fort. One of them, says 
Pickett "belonging to John Randon, was tied up and 
severely flogged, for alarming the garrison, with what 
Major Beasley deemed a sheer fabrication. Fletcher, 
the owner of the other, refused to permit him to be 
punished, because he believed his statement, which so 
incensed the major that he ordered Fletcher, with his 
large family, to depart from the fort by ten o'clock the 
next day." Pickett continues : " The next morning " 
— August 30 — -"Randon's negro was again sent out to 
attend the cattle, but, seeing a large body of Indians, 
fled to Fort Pierce, being afraid to communicate the 
intelligence to those wlio had whipped him. In the 
meantime Fletcher's negro, by the reluctant consent of 
his master, was tied up, and the lash about to be ap- 
plied to his back ; the officers were preparing to dine ; 
the soldiers were reposing on the ground ; some of the 
settlers were playing cards ; f the girls and young men 
were dancing, while a hundred thoughtless and happy 
children sported from door to door, and from tent to 
tent. 

At that awful moment, one thousand Creek warriors, 
extended flat upon the ground, in a thick ravine, four 
hundred yards from the eastern gate, thirsted for 
American blood. I^o eyes saw them, but those of the 

* Meek says, " Major Beasley, with a party of his oflBcers, was engaged in a 
£;ame of cards." • 



THE CREEK WAR. 145 

cliirping and innocent birds in the limbs above them. 
The mid-day sun sometimes flashed through the thick 
foliage, and glanced upon their yellow skins, but 
quickly withdrew, as if afraid longer to contemplate 
the murderous horde. There lay tlie prophets, covered 
with feathers, with black faces, resembling those mon- 
sters which partake of both beast and bird. Beside 
them lay curious medicine bags and rods of magic. 
The whole ravine was covered with painted and naked 
savages, completely armed. 

The hour of twelve o'clock arrived, and the drum 
beat the officers and soldiers of the garrison to dinner." 
For this signal the Indians had waited. They remem- 
bered the dinner hour on Burnt Corn Creek a few 
weeks before, and they expected to find many of those 
who had made that attack, within Fort Minis. — Pickett 
proceeds: "Then, by one simultaneous bound, the 
ravine was relieved of its savage burden, and soon the 
field resounded with the rapid tread of the bloody war- 
riors. The sand had washed against the eastern gate, 
which now lay open. Major Beasley rushed, sword in 
hand, and essayed in vain to shut it. The Indians 
felled him to the earth, with their clubs and tomahawks, 
and rushing over his body, into the additional part of 
the fort, left him a chance to crawl behind the gate, 
where he shortly after expired. To the last he called 
upon the men to make a resolute resistance." And 
now was repeated, but on a smaller scale, and with 
many circumstances changed, the destruction of 1540, 
some twelve miles north and four miles east, upon this 
same Alabama. Then it was Spaniards butchering the 
Indians ; now it was Indians, led by men of mixed 
blood, executing Indian barbarities upon Americans, 

10 



146 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Spaniards, * and those of mixed blood like their 
leaders. 

The carnage that followed the entrance of the In- 
dians into Fort Mims was dreadful. It seems useless 
to attempt a description. The officers bravely en- 
deavored to force the Indians from the gateway, but 
bravery was now of no avail. Officers and soldiers fell 
in vain attempts to counteract the results of a want of 
vigilance in the past. Help or hope there was none; 
and soldiers, women, children, Spaniards, friendly In- 
dians, fell together in heaps of mangled bodies, the 
dying and the dead, scalped, mutilated, bloody, to be 
consumed ere long by fire, or to become food for 
hungry dogs and buzzards. In vain the young men, 
no longer dancing with the girls, and also the aged 
men and boys, fought the unrelenting savages with 
desperate fury. In vain did the brave Captain Bailey, 
left as the commanding officer, and who lived through 
all the carnage, animate the inmates to a resolute re- 
sistance. In vain did the women load the guns, bring 
water from the well, and do all that it was possible to 
do in sustaining the courage of the men. 

Many might have survived, when, after about three 
hours of conflict, the main body of the Indians begin- 
ning to plunder started towards the ferry with their 
booty, had not Weatherford, mounted on a fine black 
horse, overtaken them and brought them back to com- 
plete the work of destruction. Then began anew the 
scenes of havoc. Many of the buildings were set on 
fire, and amid the fearful shrieks of women and chil- 
dren the work of death and the removal of scalps went 

* Some Spaniards, deserters from Pensacola, were within the fort, and while 
kneeling around the well and crossing themselves, fell hene.'xth Indian tomahawks. 



THK CREEK WAR. 147 

on. Women and children were put to death in ways 
too horrible to be narrated ; until even Weatherford 
himself, reproaching the savages for their barbarity, 
imploring them, it is said, in vain, to spare the women 
and children, " left the horrid scene."* 

Some extra picketing had been attached to Patrick's 
loom-house, and this place of but slight defense was 
called the bastion. " ' To the bastion, to the bastion!' 
was now the fearful cry of the survivors. Soon it was 
full to overflowing. The weak, wounded, and feeble, 
were pressed to death and trodden under foot. The 
spot presented the appearance of one immense mass of 
human beings, herded together too close to defend 
themselves, and, like beeves in the slaughter-pen of 
the butcher, a prey to those who fired upon them. 
The large building had fallen, carrying with it the 
scorched bodies of the Baileys and others on the roof, 
and the large number of women and children in the 
lower story." The flames soon reached that last re- 
treat called the bastion. A few escaped, but nearly all 
yet living perished in the conflagration. At about five 
o'clock the Indians retired. The bullets, the knives, 
the tomahawks, and the flames, had done their fearful 
work ; and the massacre at Fort Mims was ended. Fif- 
teen escaped and reached Mount Vernon ; among them 
a colored woman named Hester, who, breaking through 
the line of Indian warriors, although severely wounded, 
reached a canoe in the lake, paddled to Fort Stoddart 
that night, and gave to General Claiborne the first in- 
formation concerning the fall of the fort. A few col- 

* Weatherford is stiid to have taken with him to the Creek nation, from this 
massacre, " an extremely beautiful and spirited maiden of about seventeen or 
eighteen summers, "' named FiUcy, the daughter of Joseph Cornell, a whit(! man, 
and of an Indian woman. 



148 CLARKE AND ITS SUKROUNDINGS. 

ored people and some women and children of mixed 
blood were taken away as prisoners by the Indians. 
Fully five hundred, among them the hundred playing 
children 'of the morning, all the dancing girls, and 
every white woman in the fort, may be counted as hav- 
ing perished on that fatal day. 

In the noted Wj^oming massacre of July 1TT8, 
when nine hundred Indians with about two hundred 
tories under John Butler, attacked the flourishing but 
remote, secluded, Wyoming settlement, in the beauti- 
ful and fertile valley of the Susquehannah, claimed 
then by both Connecticut and Pennsylvania, out of 
six hundred and forty-seven in Forty-Fort, "about 
three hundred and sixty were instantly slain," but the 
two hundred women in the fort and thirty men "were 
permitted to cross the Susquehannah, and retreat 
through the woods to Northampton county."* 

The Creeks at Fort Mims spared no white women or 
children, but one gleam of Indian gratitude shines out 
amid the horrors of that day, like a lone star in the 
deep gloom of a cloudy night. Mrs. Yicey McGirth, 
a half-blood Ci'eek, the wife of Zachariah McCrirth, was 
in the fort, with eight children. The narrator is now 
Pickett. "Many years before the dreadful massacre 
at Fort Mims, a little, hungry Indian boy, named 
Sanota — an orphan, houseless and friendless — stopped 
at the house of Vicey McGirth. She fed and clothed 
him, and he grew to athletic manhood. He joined the 
war party, and formed one of the expedition against 
Fort Mims. Like the other warriors, he was engaged 
in hewing and hacking the females to pieces, toward 
the close of the massacre, when he suddenly came 

^ *See Ramsay's United tStates, Vol. 2, page 334. 



THE CREEK WAR. 149 

upon Mrs. McGirth and his foster sisters. Pity and 
gratitude taking possession of his heart, he thrust 
tlieni in a corner, and nobly made his broad savage 
breast a rampart for their protection. The next day 
he carried them off, upon horses, toward the Coosa 
under the pretence that he had reserved them from 
death for his slaves. Arriving at his home, he shel- 
tered them, hunted for them, and protected them from 
Indian brutality. One day he told his adopted mother 
that he was going to tight Jackson, at the Horse-Shoe, 
and that if he should be killed, she must endeavor to 
reach her friends below." 

In that noted battle of Cholocco Litabixee, where 
from one thousand Creek warriors about two hundred 
only survived, the grateful Sanota fell. Mrs. McGirth 
and her children started southward, finally reached 
Mobile, and there met the husband and father, who 
had searched for their mangled bodies within the smok- 
ing ruins of the fort on the night after the massacre, 
and, sick at heart from the horrible sights which there 
met his eyes, had given them up as among the un- 
recognizable remains which then were "cracking and 
frying upon the glowing coals." When they were 
presented to him on the wharf at Mobile, preserved 
through the gratitude of Sanota, it is said, "A torrent 
of joy and profound astonishment overwhelmed him. 
He trembled like a leaf and was for some minutes 
speechless." 

The wise king said, "Cast thy bread upon the 
waters." Not in vain does one feed hungry Indians. 

The lessons taught by the destruction of the Ten- 
saw settlement do not need to be here stated. Nor 
need any mention be made of the condition of the 



150 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

ruined fort when, on the ninth of September, troops 
arrived from Mount Vernon, to undertake the almost 
impossible task of burying the dead. 

From a small stockade near Fort Mims a little band 
escaped. They reached the river but could not cross, 
when Peggy Bailey, a woman of Indian blood, swam to 
the west side of the river and obtained a ilat-boat, on 
which they crossed, and at length reached the Arsenal. 
For this daring act the Government afterward rewarded 
her with a tract of land. 

We recross the Alabama. Within and around the 
stockade forts of Clarke most of the settlers had col- 
lected, and among their small plantations the prophet 
Francis with one hundred Creek warriors was commit- 
ting depredations. 

In the crowded condition of Fort Sinqueiield the 
two large families of Abner James and Ransom Kim- 
bell chose to return to a plantation, and both families 
on the first of September were remaining at KimbelPs 
home^ near Bassett's creek, about one mile from the 
fort. Suddenly, about three o'clock in the afternoon, 
Francis and his warriors surrounded the house. Ab- 
ner James and a visitor named Walker were in sight 
within the building, and at these the Indians fired, but 
neither of the men being wounded they escaped with 
Mary and Thomas James, the latter being fourteen 
years of age, and reached Fort Sinquefield. Isham 
Kimbell, then sixteen years of age, was with a little 
brother at the blacksmith shop, distant from the house 
one hundred and fifty yards, when the first guns 
were fired. Leaving the shop and seeing the Indians 
already at their bloody work within his father's door- 
yard, lie started with his brother for the fort. Avoid- 



THE CKEEK WAR. 151 

ing the road the two boys were pursued, and a gun 
was tired, the shot cutting the chincapin buslies around 
them but wounding neither. The Indians do not seem 
to have been sharpshooters with tire-arms. The broth- 
ers, as rapidly as possible, made their way towards the 
fort ; but on crossing a stream the elder brotlier fell, 
and when again ready to dash forward the younger 
boy was not in sight, nor was he ever heard of after- 
ward. "What disposition the Indians made of him 
is unknown. No time was then to be lost, and alone 
through the woods Isham Kimbell hastened on. Un- 
certain as to the precise direction of the fort, he walked 
up the inclined body of a pine tree, which the wind 
had prostrated, to take a view of the surroundings and 
learn his course. He heard the voices of the Indians, 
distant then some two hundred yards, on the direct 
road from his father's home to the fort, descended 
from his dangerous position, and once more dashed 
forward. He was soon after met, almost exliausted, 
by Thomas Matlock and John O'Gwynn, who had 
heard the firing and were reconnoitering, and by thein 
was taken into the fort. Ransom Kimbell was absent 
from his home at the time of the attack, on horseback, 
but within hearing of the guns. He started immedi- 
ately for the house, but arrived there only in time to 
find the inmates all murdered by Indian war-clubs, 
scalped, and the Indians themselves out of sight. Dis- 
tressed, and doubtless alarmed for his own safety, he 
also went to Fort Sinquefield. The Indians robbed 
the house, killed the stock and retired to the creek 
swamp. The celerity of the movements of the Indi- 
ans, which this narrative discloses, is almost incredible. 
Yet the narrative rests on authentic history and well 
attested tradition. 



152 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

One might suppose that on the last arrival, that of 
Ransom Kimbell, at the fort, and on his report that 
the Indians had even then disappeard, a force would 
have immediately proceeded to the house to care for 
the bodies of the dead. But the men whose families 
were in the fort, were like Kimbell and James, mostly 
absent at their plantations, and when they arrived at 
night-fall they were busy in posting pickets and mak- 
ing preparations to resist a night attack. So the dead, 
and the supposed dead, were left in the care of God 
alone. A dark night came on. Refreshing rain drops 
fell. One of the scalped women, Mrs. Sarah Merrill, 
daughter of Abner James, struck senseless by the 
hasty blow of the Indian war- club, revived, as the cool 
tear-drops from heaven fell upon her bloody head, and 
true to a mother's instinct and a mother's heart, began 
to search among the slain for her little child. There 
were two little children in the house on that fatal day, 
of the same size and age, and how in that dark night, 
bloody and probably dead, was she to recognize her 
own ? The dress of the one was fastened together with 
buttons and the other only with strings. She found her 
own, a little boy one year of age, its body was still 
warm, and she nursed it for a few moments. The 
warm nourishment revived it, and with the child in her 
arms, standing with difficulty upon her feet, she walked 
slowly towards the fort. 

Before reaching it exhausted nature almost gave 
way. She placed the child in a hollow log, and in the 
early morning the inmates of the fort were startled by 
the approach of a scalped and suffering woman whom 
they soon recognized and cared for. She gave infor- 
mation concerning her child and it was soon also within 



THE CREEK WAR. 153 

the fort. Both motlier and child recovered ; the short 
hair of the little boy having prevented his being 
scalped. 

The same morning, according to Clarke county tra- 
dition, September 3, according to Pickett, Colonel 
Carson at Fort Glass, having heard of the massacre, 
sent Lieutenant Bailey vi^ith seven soldiers and three 
scouts — some say nineteen soldiers — to assist in bury- 
ing the dead, and to learn the number of the Indians. 
These with the fort forces proceeded to Ransom Kim- 
bell's house, brought up twelve bodies on an ox-cart, 
and buried them near the fort. As the hasty burial 
services were closing, nearly all the inmates of the 
fort being without the stockade, Francis with his hun- 
dred warriors came suddenly upon them. An aged man 
named Phillips, sitting beside the gateway, first ob- 
served the Indians approaching in single file and in a 
half-bent position, and mistook them for wild turkeys ; 
but the younger and keener eyes of Isham Kimbell 
detected the reality, and the alarm was instantly given. 
The men took the children in their arms, and all who 
were engaged in the burial services gained the entrance 
to the fort before the warriors reached them ; but sev- 
eral women were at the spring whose retreat to the fort 
seemed to be hopelessly cut off". And now was per- 
formed a sudden deed of noble daring. Isaac Hayden, 
written by Meek Haden, called by Pickett Heaton — 
said by Pickett to have just returned from a deer hunt, 
and by Brewer to have been hunting cows, but, on 
Clarke county authority, one of the soldiers from Fort 
Glass, mounted a horse, cheered all the dogs of the 
fort, in number sixty or more, upon the Indians, and 
dashed forward himself to the defence of the women. 



154 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

The ascent from the spring is steep, the bold horse- 
man and the fierce hounds rushed down upon the 
stai'tled savages, and the Creek warriors were forced to 
halt and defend themselves from the fury of these 
"dogs of war" indeed, which the soldier-hunter had 
"let slip." The brave dogs did their duty well, and 
the gallant Hayden eifectually secured the entrance 
into the fort of every woman except one, Mrs. Phillips, 
whom the Indians overtook and scalped. Hayden's 
coat was riddled, it is said, with bullets, his bold horse 
fell under him, but recovering again, followed his un- 
harmed rider into the fort. 

Then the baffled and enraged Indians attacked 
the little stockade, but Sinquefield was resolutely de- 
fended ; the gate was closed; and, with the loss of a 
number of warriors, the party of the prophet, taking 
the horses of the soldiers from Fort Glass, which they 
found tethered without the stockade, made a hasty re- 
treat. Although they had successfully repulsed one 
band of Creek warriors, the occupants of Fort Sinque- 
field knew not how soon Weatherford and his thousand 
might surround them, and they left the fort the next 
day and marched to Fort Madison, 

Before we leave this bravely defended stockade, 
from which some thirty-five white men repulsed a hun- 
dred red warriors, about mid-day of Thursday, Sep- 
tember 2, 1813, themselves losing but one man, while 
the Indians lost in killed and seriously and fatally 
wounded about one-fifth of their number, let us look at 
the localitv of the fort and the place of the massacre. 



THE CREEK WAR. 



155 



j k 

Section 13. 

i 
a 


Section 18. 

I 
b 


h g 

• 

Section 24. 
Range 3, E. 


f e * d 

m 

Section 19. 

Range 4, E. 



a. Fort Sinquefield, now residence of Mrs. Hickson. 

b. The Creighton home. 

c. The family burial place. 

d. The place of KimbcU massacre. 

e. Old family burial place, near the first Creighton home. 
/. Residence of J. H. Creighton. 

g. Residence of Rev. William Hill. 

h. Residence of T. A. Creighton. 

i. Residence of John Cammack. 

j. Horeb church. 

k. The Bettis home. 

I. The Moncrief home. 

m. Residence of F. B. Whatley 

n. Five mile post. 

0. The fort spring. 



156 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Distances : From 6 to c 40 rods. From c to (Z 45 rods. From d to 
e 15 rods. From the southwest corner of section 18 to b about 100 
rods. From d to n, in a straight line, seven-sixths (|) of a mile. 

For the first thirty rods east of Fort Sinquefield the 
ground is nearly level, sloping slightly. For the next 
twenty rods it slopes more rapidly. Proceeding about 
thirty rods more, making eighty rods eastward, a wind- 
ing valley is reached which leads to the place of the 
massacre. A few yards only from that place is now 
the trace of an old road on the brow of a slight descent, 
which is but a few feet above the Bassett Creek bot- 
tom, or lowest valley. The table-land on which the 
fort stood is about one hundred feet above the bed of 
the creek. Indians might have approached from the 
eastward, up the valley and slope, within about thirty 
yards of the fort unperceived. 

Let us now glance at the spot marked d on the dia- 
gram before us, in the north-east quarter of section 
nineteen. This represents the spot where, in the mid- 
dle of the afternoon of Sept. 1, 1813, the Creek Indians 
so suddenly entered a pioneer home and dealt their 
savage blows upon women and children, members of 
the Kimbell and James families. Everything now on 
and around the scene of this tragic event is in keeping 
with what a poet or historian would like to find. Six- 
ty-four years have passed away. (1877.) The one 
survivor is an aged man. A growth of yonng pines, 
covering several acres, extends over and around the 
place of the massacre, extending westward about 
twenty rods. The shade is dark and deep in this pine 
grove. An old china-tree, and the roots and decaying 
body of another, and a younger looking cedar, are near 
where the house once stood. Close by, six rods dis- 



THE CREEK WAR. 157 

tant, is the brow of the slight elevation above Bassett's 
Creek bottom, along whieh the dim trace of an old road 
appears. 

This once blood-stained spot, a nice selection in this 
valley for a pioneer home, is on the Creighton planta- 
tion ; and distant but a few rods, beside an old mul- 
berry tree, is the first Clarke county burial place of the 
Creighton family, and of some others. The dust of 
the faithful old basket-maker, Jerry, whose record 
will be found in a later chapter, is reposing near. 

A little distance off, in another direction is the spot 
of the first Creighton residence in Clarke. The repose, 
the solitude of nature here, is in harmony with the 
varied associations of the place. Here once was life ; 
here came Indian warriors and sudden death ; near by 
came new life, a new home, and peaceful death. And 
now the pine solitude is over all. It seems a pity that 
this solitude should ever be disturbed. It certainly 
ought to be left for the sunshine and the birds. It will 
not be disturbed during the present ownership ; yet 
none can tell how soon the woodman's axe, in some 
ruthless or thoughtless hand, will change this part of 
the plantation into an open field ; nor how soon the 
plow-share will pass over these now secluded and, in 
some sort, sacred spots. It is not probable that in 
1913, or thirty-six years from now, one can sit beneath 
this china-tree and write such memorials as these. 
•The young cedar, now forty feet in height, may re- 
main, but it is likely that the axe will cut down what 
time would spare. The surveyed route of the expected 
(Trand Trunk Railroad is not more than a mile away, 
and when the locomotive whistle startles the birds and 
squirrels in these solitudes, none can foretell the 



158 CLARKE AND ITS t^URROUNDINGS. 

changes that will follow. The present Creighton burial 
place, where the dust of the fourth Alabama generation 
is reposing, is out from the dark pine grove, in the 
bright sunshine, about thirty rods from the early rest- 
ing-place of the family dead. 

The diagram shows the location of the early Mon- 
crief and Bettis homes, and also of other family resi- 
dences of the present time. Bassett's Creek, which is 
quite a large stream of water, is about half a mile east 
of the north-east corner of section nineteen, and nearly 
cuts the south-east corner. 

Perhaps the time is not far distant when a plain, 
neat monument will mark the spot where twelve lives, 
so suddenly went out at three o'clock of a summer's 
day, in that year of so much bloody Indian strife. An- 
other monument will doubtless then replace the small 
tablet which has lately been erected at the early family 
burial place, and thus the second family that began to 
occupy this part of the broad valley, soon after it passed 
from the Choctaw ownership, may perpetuate the mem- 
ory of those whom Muscogee barbarity swept away, as 
in a moment, from the quiet scenes of pioneer life. 

We may now follow the occupants of the Sinquefield 
stockade to Fort Madison. 

Captain Evan Austill was the citizen soldier in com- 
mand at Fort Madison by the choice of the settlers. To 
him, as well as to so many others liolding their little 
wooden fortresses in the heart of Clarke county against 
the savage Creeks, these words of Judge Meek are 
truly applicable. "They were men well calculated, 
both by nature and habits of life, to meet such an 
emergency. With no dependence but the axe and the 
rifle, they had brought their families through the 



THE CREEK WAK. 159 

wilderness, and made them homes upon the table-plains 
and rich alluvial bottoms of our two principal streams. 
The character and habits of the Indians, thej under- 
stood well ; their stratagems in warfare, their guile and 
cunning. With a flexibility of nature, that still retained 
its superiority, they accommodated themselves to these, 
and were prepared, as far as their limited numbers 
would go, for the necessities of either peace or war. 
To a spectator, the strange buckskin garb, the hunting- 
shirt, leggings and moccasins, the long and heavy rifle, 
the large knife swinging by the shot-bag, the proud, 
erect deportment, but cautious tread, and the keen, far- 
seeing, but apparently passive eye, of the settler in the 
fork of the Alabama and Tombeckbee, upon the Ten- 
saw, or about Fort St. Stephens, would have spoken 
much of the moral energies and purposes of the man." 

"But the chief characteristics of these people were 
the sterner virtues. They were brave, industrious, 
patient, generous, and persevering ; and well qualified, 
both in moral and physical capacities, to endure the 
hardships and dangers of their insulated position. 
These capacities were soon called into requisition and 
tested to their utmost." 

Colonel Carson, at Fort Glass, was the military 
commander within the county. More than one thou- 
sand persons were now at Forts Madison and Glass. 
About four hundred were at Gullet's Bluff". The oc- 
cupants of the forts north of Sinquetield crossed the 
river to St. Stephens. Some of the settlers, witli their 
families, went some distance west of the Tombigbee, 
where they considered there would be no necessity for 
fortifications. The Indians were busily engaged in 
committing various depredations, burning the unoccu- 



160 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

pied homes of the settlers, driving off their cattle — 
Clarke county was then a great grazing region — and 
turning the hogs into the ripened corn-fields, to fatten 
them for the feasts which they expected soon to hold. 
lAll the scattered settlers of the eastern part of Missis- 
Isippi Territory had gone into some kind of defence. 
IThe two forts at Mount Vernon were "packed." 
Judge Toulmin and a number of his neighbors had 
gone to Fort Charlotte at Mobile, where families were 
daily arriving. Rankin's Fort contained five hundred 
and thirty persons. 

At Fort Madison great anxiety prevailed. J. Au- 
stin, a youth of nineteen, son of Captain Evan Austill, 
was sent alone, on a fleet horse, as bearer of dispatches 
to General Claiborne at Mount Yernon. The route 
over which the solitary horseman passed is very lone- 
some now. From Hickory Hall to Salt Mountain there 
is scarcely a house or a fence in sight along the Salt 
Works Trail. 

Then, in the dark bottoms and amid the more open 
pines, the Creek warriors might at any moment ap- 
pear. Mounted on one of the swift cavalry horses the 
bold youth proceeded cautiously on his way through 
the still hours of night. Reaching the river bottom in 
the vicinity of Fort Carney, he was uncertain whether 
the fort was above or below that point. He rode near 
the river bank and gave one Indian war-whoop. List- 
ening for a moment, there came to his ears from the 
fort, distant about half a mile, the loud, defying bark 
of some fifty or sixty dogs. Uncertainty was at an end. 
Soon he reached the gateway ; was welcomed within by 
the startled men, women, and children ; a warm supper 
was provided for hin.self and food for his horse ; both 



THE CREEK WAR. IHI 

were transported across the river; and again the courier 
was upon the road. Passing Old Wakefield and Mcln- 
tosirs Bluff, in the dawn of the morning lie reached the 
headquarters of the General. Claiborne was amazed 
tluit he had corae thus alone, and was disposed to 
blame Colonel Carson for sending no attendatits. But 
the youthful messenger replied, that his ears were 
quick to catch Sounds and his eyes were keen, like the 
luitives of those wilds, and in the event of danger he 
would have been obliged to trust to his own resources 
and to his fleet horse. Companions would only have 
exposed liim to more danger. So Claiborne became 
satisfied. An order was sent to Colonel Carson, de- 
signed, it afterward appeared, to be discretionary, but 
interpreted at the time as po'emptory, to abandon 
those forts and retire to St. Stephens. There the de- 
fences consisted of embankments and earth-works, and 
that place was to be held at all hazards. Sadness, and 
consternation even, followed the reception of the order 
at Fort Madison ; and there were some who blamed 
General Claiborne for thus, in appearance, abandoning 
the w^hole body of settlers in Clarke county. 

Some eighty citizens, enrolling themselves under 
the two captains Evan Austill and Samuel Dale, chose 
to remain with their families and protect themselves 
and their homes. 

The parting at the forts was a sad one, as families, 
friends, and neighbors separated there, with little ex- 
pectation of meeting soon again. About five hundred 
accompanied Colonel Carson and his horsemen to St. 
Stephens. 

After the departure of the troops, those remaining 
at Fort Madison took additional precautions. They 
11 



16j} clahke and its surroundings. 

placed slaiitiiiu- pickets <u\)iind on the outside of their 
stockade. They erected a sweep, forty feet in height, 
where at night a bright light was kept. The pitch pine 
of the forest was thus made to illuminate a circle within 
which no Indian could approacli unperceived. Some 
tw(j weeks afterwards, Claibt)rne coming up to St. 
Stephens and seeing the situation of Clarke county set- 
tlers, sent Colonel Carson and his cav^alry back to Fort 
Madison. . 

The Choctaws through the inliuence of their noted 
chieftain, Pushmataha, now became allies of the Amer- 
icans. 

About this time took place the Basui skirmish. 

There seems to be some uncertainty as to the exact 
date. Pickett places it early in October. A. Cakle- 
TON, an intelligent citizen of Baslii states that it took 
place before Fort Easley was evacuated. Colonel Will- 
iam McGrew, with some twentj^-tive mounted men, 
was scouting in the north-western part of the county, 
and was ambushed by a party of Creek warriors. A 
tui'key tail raised above a log by one of the hidden In- 
dians was the signal for attack. The action was short 
bat fatal to the commanding officer and to three of his 
men, Ednmnd Miles, Jesse Griffin, and David Griffin. 
Like the dark gray charger of Mamilius at tlie Battle 
of Lake Hegillus ; like the steed seen in LochieFs 
Warning, 

" A steed comes at morning, 
No rider is there, 
But its bridle is red with the 
Sign of despair;" 

the horse of Colonel McGrew, after the fall of his 
rider, started for his home. "On the next morning 



THE CREEK WAK. 163 

after the battle the Coloiiers horse was at St. Stephens, 
thirty miles distant, with signs of blood on the saddle 
and only one pistol in his holster." * General Flournoy 
having issued orders for offensive operations, General 
Claiborne crossed the river from St. Stephens, and 
advanced into the Woods Bluff and Bashi region. His 
men found the bodies of Colonel McGrew and of Jesse 
Griffin and Edmund Miles, and buried them with mili- 
tary lionors. The body of David Griffin was never 
found. This attack upon McGrew's command took 
place about four miles east of Wood's Bluff, near the 
present Linden and Coffeeville road, and about a half 
mile south-west of the Bashi bridge. Until recently a 
"frail memorial" has pointed out to the traveller the 
spot of this soldier burial. Some more durable monu- 
ment ought to be erected in memory of these citizen 
soldiers. 

Spending a few days in slight conflicts and in scour- 
ing the region with small detachments, having several 
men wounded, finding but few Indians, General Clai- 
borne's troops returned and camped at Pine Level, 
now Jackson. Among those severely wounded was the 
brave Captain William Bradberry, who had fought 
at Burnt Corn, He was shot ''about two miles above 
the Lewis Mitchell place, and five miles above West 
Bend, on the old Coffeeville and Woods Bluff river 
road." + It is uncertain when Easley's and Turner's 
forts were evacuated ; probably soon after the news 
reached them of the fall of Fort Mims ; but a pleasant 
fact concerning them is worthy of record. In that sum- 
mer or fall, when there were occupants in both forts, a 
camp-meeting was held at Fort Easley which some 

* A. Carleton. t Hon. E. S. Thornton. 



164 CLARKE AND IT8 SURROUNDINGS. 

from the other fort attended. Among these was Mrs. 
Martha Pace, "Aunt Patsy," now about eighty years 
of age. The "love feast" on Sunday morning was 
held outside of the fort, but guards were stationed 
around to protect against a sudden Indian attack. This 
meeting was probably in August. 

From the facts presented here and elsewhere it will 
be seen that there was quite a large early settlement in 
what is now Coifeeville beat, the northern boundary of 
which is Witch Creek, along which is the range of the 
noted, rocky, and almost impassable Witch Creek 
Hills. Few of the events occurring in this part of the 
county seem to have reached the notice of Pickett, al- 
though he distinctly names one, Tandy Walker, who 
performed many daring deeds, and who became a citi- 
zen in that part of this beat known now as West Bend. 
Here, at what is now E. S. Thornton's Upper Landing, 
was a Choctaw village called Turkey Town. A larger 
Indian town of this name is mentioned by Pickett. 

Returning, from this digression, to the Indian strife ; 
small parties of Creeks were still committing depreda- 
tions, occasionally killing a few whites, and preventing 
the settlers from gathering their crops, when Captain 
Dale, having nearly recovered from his wounds, ob- 
tained permission from Colonel Carson to drive these 
invaders from the lands between the rivers. 

His force consisted of thirty Mississippi volunteers 
under Lieutenant Montgomery, and forty militia of 
Clarke county, G. W. Creagh, Lieutenant. Among 
the latter were James Smith and Jeremiah Austill, 
whose names, together with the name of their leader, 
were to be rendered memorable by the events of this 
expedition. 



THE CREEK WAR. 165 

The first da}' they marched northward, visiting sev- 
eral unoccupied ]»lantations, but meeting no Indians. 
Tlie second day tliey went in a south-eastern direction 
to the river. They crossed the Alabama at Brazier's 
Landing, afterwards known as French's, in two canoes, 
and camped on the bank. The night was cool and 
frosty, and the men were thinly clad. The next morn- 
ing, November 12, when the warm sun arose, the men 
resumed their march, J. Austill with six men having 
charge of the canoes, with instructions to move them 
up the river as neai'ly as possible abreast of the men 
whom Dale led along the eastern bank. A canoe load 
of Indians was soon seen descending the river ; but 
these warriors immediately paddled backup the stream 
and disappeared in the thick cane where Randon's 
Creek enters the Alabama. The men on the bank also 
met with Indians, who retreated before the well-aimed 
guns of the Americans, one of their number being 
killed and several being wounded. On reaching Ran- 
dall's plantation it was found difficult to proceed further 
along the eastern bank ; orders were therefore given 
by Dale to re-cross to the western side. When all liad 
been ferried over in the canoes except twelve men, in- 
cluding among these Dale, Smith, Austill, Creagh, 
Elliott, and Brady, and while these were preparing 
their breakfast, boiling beef and roasting some sweet 
potatoes in a little field, the alarm came from the west- 
tern bank that the Indians were coming upon them. 
Seizing their guns the men retired to the river bank, 
and soon saw descending the river a large canoe con- 
taining a chief and ten painted warriors. 

The Indians on the eastern side retiring without 
making an attack. Dale and his men gave their atten- 



166 CLARKK AND ITS SUKROUNDINGS. 

tion to the large canoe. Two cautious warriors left the 
boat and made for the shore, one of whom Smith shot 
with his trusty rille and the other escaped. The coh)red 
man, Caesar, with his small canoe was now on the east- 
ern side, and Dale immediately ordered the large canoe 
to be manned and brought over. Eight men started 
to cross the river, but becoming alarmed at the threat- 
ening aspect of the nine painted warriors in their canoe> 
they returned to the western bank. Captain Dale was 
vexed at their timidity, and proposed to his little band 
of "brave citizen soldiers to attack the Indians on the 
river in their small canoe. Besides the ferryman, 
Caesar, and the captain. Dale, the little float would 
carry but two, and Smith and Austill immediately fol- 
lowed Dale into the tiny bark. And now, on this 
memorable day, ^November 12, on the beautiful Ala- 
bama, with nine American spectators on the one bank, 
and how many concealed Indians in the dense canes 
none knew, * and sixty-one Americans on the other, 
was fought, hand to hand, three against nine, the small 
but noted battle, so peculiar to American border 
strife, called 

THE CANOE FIGHT. 

At the command of Dale the boatman, Caesar, by 
the vigorous strokes of his paddle sent the light bark 
directly toward the larger boat of the expectant Indians, 
and as in larger naval engagements, the first thing in 
the action is to discharge a broadside upon the enemy, 
so the three Americans essayed to do ; but Smith's 
gun alone was discharged, the priming having become 
damp in the other two guns. Caesar was then ordered 

* Meek says nearly thivt' hundred. His account difliTs in some iiartitulars 
from other accounts. 



IIIK CHKKK WAR. 107 

to \n\U up uloiigside, as the second step in the action 
would be to board tlie enemy. As the bold little craft 
touched the Indian canoe, Austill, who was in the 
prow, received the lirst brunt of the battle, the daunt- 
less chief of the red warriors bringing his rifle down 
heavily upon Austill's head. But in an instant Smith 
and Dale came to his rescue, and with their heavy rifles 
and strong arms, soon dispatched the powerful chief. 
Caesar now brought the canoes side by side, and thus 
held them during the progress of the fight, while the 
three American heroes engaged in deadly strife with 
the savage warriors. It was diflicult at the time, it is 
difficult now, to recount exactly the particular share 
which each had in the stern conflict. Like the " daunt- 
less Three " in the days of ancient Rome, Horatius^ 
Captain of the Gate, Lartius, and Herminius, "who 
kept the bridge so well,"' when "Romans were like 
brothers in the brave days of old ; " like the Three 

Tells, 

" Tlie Patriot Three, that mut of yore 

Beneath the midnight sky, 
And leagued their liearts on the Gri'itli shore. 

In the name of liberty ! " 

who now together sleep in a cavern by lake Lucerne; 
so these three dauntless border men, true representa- 
tives of American heroism, share together the honor 
of their exploits, as that day they stood together in the 
confusion of tiie desperate struggle. 

xVustill, at one time, was struck down by an Indian 
war-clul), but was rescued from imi)ending deatli by 
Dale, and regaining his feet in another encounter 
wrenched the war-club from the Indian and with it 
dashed him overboard. 

Smith performed his part bravely in the conflict, 



]<)8 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

and soon the bloody work was over. Eight dead war- 
riors were cast into the flowing waters of the Ala- 
bama. The three white men with their colored boat- 
man, were masters of both canoes. The Canoe Fight 
was over. 

Samuel Dale was at this time forty-one years of age, 
was about six feet and two inches in height, and weighed 
one hundred and ninety pounds; He possessed a 
large, muscular frame and had no superfluous flesh. 
The Indian" chief had exclaimed, before the fight, when 
the two canoes were about ten feet apart, "Now for it 
Big Sam." And they were his last words. James 
Smith was now twenty-Hve years of age, five feet and 
eight inches in height, very stout and finely propor- 
tioned, weighing one hundred and sixty-five pounds. 
Jeremiah Austill was nineteen years of age, six feet 
two and one-fourth inches in height, verj^ sinewy, 
with no surplus flesh, and weighed one hundred 
and seventy-five pounds. Such, physically, were 
the men who proved their superiority over red war- 
riors of the brave Creek nation, men who, in a hand to 
hand conflict, shared the advantages which were need- 
ful for ancient heroes, and for knights in the Middle 
Ages, of well trained and hardy muscle. 

After the strife had ceased Captain Dale asked Cae- 
sar why he did not help them fight. He replied, "I 
was sure you would all be killed and then the Indians 
would only make me a slave." But gallantly Caesar 
did his part in holding the two canoes side by side. 

By means of the captured canoe the nine men on 
the east side were taken across the river, the party 
proceeded some two miles further north, to Cornell's 
ferry, and finding no more Indians, returned that night 
to Fort Madison. 



THE CREKK WAK. K^l* 

By tliese expeditions the inroads of the Creek war- 
riors on the west side of tlie Ahibama were cheeked, 
and the settlers of Clarke county were able to return 
to their plantations and gather their crops and enlarge 
their improvements. 

General Claiborne, in a few days after the Canoe 
Fight, left Pine Level and, marching his troops to the 
Alabama, crossed the river, and commenced the erec- 
tion of a fort to which his own name was given, where 
is now the town called Claiborne 

An account of the further prosecution of the Creek 
War, in which Dale, Creagli, Smith, and Austill, with 
other Clarke county men, were more or less engaged, 
does not belong properly to this narration. Before it 
closed, the destructive battle of the Holy Ground was 
fought December 23, in which Clarke county men dis- 
tinguished themselves by their bravery and prowess, 
and in which Weatherford, after the signal defeat of 
his forces, made his escape from the field " on a grey 
steed of unsurpassed strength and fieetness," by leaping 
over a bluft' ten or fifteen feet into the Alabama and 
swimming safely across to the western shore. Also, 
at the cross-roads, four miles north of Suggsville, 
Colonel Russell marching with his troops from Fort 
Claiborne, was joined by a company under Captain 
Evan Austill, G. W. Creagh Lieutenant, and a horse 
company under Captain Foster, both commanded b}^ 
Major Samuel Dale, from which I'endezvous they pro- 
ceeded to Cahawba Old Towns, and returning again to 
the same cross-roads, were there disbanded in Febru- 
ary, 1814. Also, Colonel Thomas H. Benton erected, 
near the ruins of Fort Mims, Fort Montgomer}-, w liicli 
he commanded in October of 1814 ; General Coifee at 



17.0 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

the same time, witli twenty-eight hnndred men, being 
camped opposite the Cut-OfF on the west side of the 
Tombigbee. General Jackson having passed down the 
Ahibama to Mobile in tlie latter part of October reached 
Coffee's camp, led the army across the rive'S and Nan- 
nahnbba Island, to Fort Montgomery, and then to Pen- 
sacola. Accomplishing his object there he returned to 
Fort Montgomery, then to Mobile, and crossed over 
to JS'ew Orleans. At the close of 1814 the Creek War 
was ended, and on the 24th of December was signed a 
treaty of peace between Great Britain and the United 
States, known as the Treaty of Ghent. 

General peace now prevailing the settlers between 
the rivers- had opportunity to promote more rapidly the 
growth of their settlements and to build up the various 
forms and institutions of their civilization. 

St. Stephens at this time was their principal town. 
The courts of Washington county were held in the 
town of Rodney, at the close of the war, William Jor- 
dan having built a court house for the county, but in 
1815 the courts were ordered to be held at the house of 
Robert Caller until new commissioners arranged new 
public buildings. It was also ordered that the courts 
of Clarke be held at the house of John Laundrum, Jo- 
seph Phillips, Samuel Hill, Moses Larrele, Wm. 
Easeley, and Warham Easely being appointed commis- 
sioners to locate the public buildings. It seems that 
these commissioners did not make rapid progress, for 
in 1819 it was ordered that the courts be held at the 
house of William Coate, near Clarkesville. 

Educational interests were not neglected. 

In December of 1814 - Lewis Sewall, James Caller, 

* Turner's Digest, p. 55. 



GROWTH. 171 

George S. Gaines, Joseph Phillips, Thomas Maloiie, 
Joseph Carson, Thomas B. Creagh, Benjamin S. Smoot, 
Reuben Saffold, Benjamin J. Biddill, and John Dean, 
were constituted a body corporate, as Trustees of the 
Washington Academy, to establish such academy in 
Washington or in Clarke county. The academy was 
finally located at St. Stephens. It was quite flourish- 
ing for several years. Here the young ladies of those 
two counties received their first academic education. 

In 1817 Mississippi Territory was divided, the west- 
ern part being admitted into the Union as the State of 
Mississippi, and the eastern being organized into a ter- 
ritorial government March 3d, 1817, and called 

AI.AliAMA TERRITORY. 

Of this territory St. Stephens, as the center of the 
oldest settled portion, became the seat of government. 

In 1818 an act was passed to establish the Tombeck- 
bee bank in the town of St. Stephens. 

Also in the same year, February 10th, an act was 
passed to incorporate the St. Stephens Steamboat Com- 
pany. Directors : James Pickens, B. S. Smoot, Silas 
Dinsmore, David Files, Henry Bright, and D. P. 
Ripley. 

It had been ascertained that there were salt springs 
near the Tombigbee river in Clarke county, and in 1819 
an act was passed to lease these springs. 

The men who engaged at this time in the manufac- 
ture of salt were probably Ball and Bayard. They do 
not seem to have continued it many years. 

Thus improvements were going forward, but as yet 
mills and gins and worksho])S were few in number and 
distant from each other. So"tne of the settlers had 



172 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

brought with them wliip-saws. By means of one ot 
these saws the himber was obtained for erecting tlie 
WhiteHouse. This was built by General J. B. Cham- 
bers about the year 1818. It was about three miles 
north-east from Grove Hill, on the Perch Tree road. 
It was two and a half stories high, and in size about 
twenty-four feet by fifty. Not only was the lumber all 
sawed by hand but the nails, it is said, were all made 
by a blacksmith. This house has been the residence of 
several families, retaining its name after it lost its color 
and its first imposing appearance. It is still standing 
but is no longer white^ and no longer inhabited. It 
will soon be a ruin and be removed. 

One of the first frame houses was bnilt by Eskridge 
in 1815. The stone chimneys of this house still re- 
main. 

At the close of the war of 1812, and as late as 181T 
there were, comparatively, few families between the 
rivers. The larger settlements were on Bassett's Creek, 
around Magoflin's Store, south of Suggsville, near Pine 
Level, on Jacksons Creek, and at West Bend and 
Coffeeville. James Magofiin, who had settled at St. 
Stephens in 1809, had a store on what is now the Allen 
place in 1817. In 1819, according to the Acts of Ala- 
bama, there were in Clarke six places for voting : 
Campbells, Coffeeville, Magofiins Store, Jackson, 
Suggsville, and William Coate's. The last was made 
the returning precinct, as there the courts were held. 

As early as 1812, so near as can be now known, 
Greenlee had a store, the first store, at the mouth of 
Cedar Creek. 

Near Suggsville John Slater erected one of the first 
grist-mills, probably in 'the same year. And in 1813 



(iROWTII. 173 

Jonathan Emmons started tlie first cotton gin in the 
vicinity, on Smith's Creek, two miles south of Siiggs- 
ville. Robert G. Hayden had one of the first tan- 
neries. He also started a small shoe factory about 
three miles south of Suggsville. Tlie probable date of 
this new enterprise is 1815. Hayden's tanner was a 
colored man named Solomon. Robert (/aller had a 
mill and a water gin, and an iron screw for packing 
cotton by hand or horse power, on what became after- 
wards the Barnes' place, as early as 1816. 

To the year 1816 may be assigned Walker's mill on 
Bassett's Creek, five miles east from Jackson and six 
west of Hickory Hall, near the Dale Ferry and Jackson 
road ; also Jackson's mill, some six miles south from 
Suggsville on a little stream. To the same period be- 
longs The Mud Tavern. This house of entertainment 
was some seven miles from Suggsville between Dale's 
Ferry and St Stephens. The name is said to have been 
given, not from any peculiarity of the building, but 
from the fact' that some rrhud was found in a bale of 
cotton sent off from this primitive hotel. The first 
goods were taken to Claiborne in January 1817. The 
earliest towns and villages in. Washington county west 
of the river have been named. The town of Jackson 
was incorporated in 1816, CofFeeville, by legislative act, 
was incorporated in 1819, and Claiborne in 1820. These 
three places were named in honor of three of the gen- 
erals in the Creek A¥ar, but there is no evidence that 
Jackson was ever at the place which bears his name, 
or that Coffee ever camped at Coffeeville. 

The question whether General Jackson was ever in 
Clarke county, will by and by receive due notice. 

Suggsville was a trading point for the neighborhood. 



174 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

containing one store in 1815. Town lots were laid out 
and sold in 1819. Families were now beginning to 
locate on some of the streams in the northern part ot 
the county, a few having settled along Bashi and TaUa- 
hatta before the Creek War. Many of the older fami- 
lies of Clarke date their residence from the year 1818. 
Millwrights and some carpenters now came, physicians 
and ministers came, civil, social, educational, and re- 
ligious institutions were established, and the foundations 
in the newly organized territory were rapidly laid, for 
a large, prosperous, and vigorous State. At this time 
a large part of the county was covered with a dense 
growth of canes. Along the bridle pathway from Clai- 
borne to Suggsville in 1808 the saddle-bags of the 
travellers had worn the canes on each side of the trail, 
so narrow was the track, so dense the cane. This cane 
was as high on each side of the trail as a man on horse- 
back could reach with an umbrella. Pasturage was ex- 
cellent, and for many years the county was a great 
stock region. McGrew in 1818 had a drove of about 
one thousand head of cattle. In the dense cane deer 
and bears were abundant, and also wolves, yellow and 
black, and catamounts or panthers. Game of various 
kinds abounded, droves of hogs and flocks of sheep 
were brought from Kentucky and the Carolinas, cotton, 
corn, and sweet potatoes were cultivated, and food was 
abundant. 

St. Stephens was a cotton market. "Supplies" 
could be obtained there, although many sent to Pensa- 
cola, to Mobile, and also to New Orleans. Barges from 
forty to fifty feet in length, were running on the rivers, 
propelled by long poles furnished at one end with a 
spike and at the other with a hook. Such was the be- 



GKOWTJI. 175 

^'iiniiiig of transportation facilities in the lieai't of the 
cotton growing belt, when the second decade of the 
Nineteenth Century was about to close. 

The census gives for Clarke county, mentioned first 
in 1820, three thousand seven hundred and seventy- 
eight white inhabitants. 

In 1810 Washington and Baldwin in the south, and 
Madison in the north, were the three counties in what 
soon became Alabama. 

When the xV^labama Territory was organized, in 
1817, there were seven counties, Mobile, Baldwin, 
Washington, Clarke, and Madison, Limestone, and 
Lauderdale. When the first Territorial Legislature 
met in January, 1818, .with one senator and about a 
dozen i-ejiresentatives, eleven new counties were estab- 
lished. The (Governor recommended the advancement 
of education, the construction of roads and bridges, and 
the establishment of ferries. 

St. Stephens did not long continue to be the Ala- 
bama capital. The second session of the Territorial 
Legislature met there in the fall of 1818. Xew counties 
were formed. The St. Stephens Bank was authorized 
to increase its capital stock by selling shares at auction. 
Ten per cent, of the profits was to go to the stock- 
holders, and the excess, if any arose, was to be appro- 
priated to the St. Stephens Academy. 

The next session was appointed to be held at Hunts- 
ville. Governor Bibb being empowered to lay out a 
seat of government and eiect a temporary capital at 
the mouth of the Cahawba. 

One " Seminole War " had just ended, and in the 
words of Pickett, "The flood-gates of Virginia, the two 
Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Georgia, were 



176 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

now lioisted, and mighty streams of emigiMtion poured 
through them, spreading over the wliole territory of 
Alabama. The axe resounded from side to side, and 
from corner to corner. The stately and magniticent 
forest fell. Log cabins sprang, as if by magic, into 
sight. Never, before or since, has a country been so 
rapidly peopled." 

In 1819 a convention assembled at Huntsville to 
form a state constitution, twenty-two counties were now 
represented, and soon Alabama was a state. 

This was a noted period for the admission of states. 
In 1816 Indiana was admitted into the Union, in 1817 
Mississippi, in 1818 Illinois, in 1819 Alabama, in 1820 
Maine, and in 1821 the state of Missouri. In 1819 
also, the Republic of Columbia in South America, took 
a place among the powers of the earth. General Bolivar 
being President, the man whom some have called the 
Washington of South America. In 1821 Peru and 
Guatemala became independent, in 1822 commenced 
the Empire of Brazil, and in 1823 the Mexican Repub- 
lic. States and nations in America were now rapidly 
taking upon themselves the prerogatives of sovereignty. 



CHAPTER VII. 

CLARKE AND MARENGO, 1820-1830. 

ALABAMA was now a state, admitted into the 
Union, December 14, 1819. No longer did 
Clarke county with its surroundings, the original Wash- 
ington county, contain the sole American residents of 
those mighty forests and large water courses. Mobile 
on the south was now at length American, and along 
the beautiful Alabama, where De Soto had found wav- 
ing cornfields and populous Indian villages, and far up 
along the Coosa and Tallapoosa, and up the winding 
Tombeckbee, the stream of the Box-Maker, and along 
the banks of the Warrior, enterprising American citi- 
zens had pitched their tents, erected their cabins, 
located their homes. But Clarke county, although no 
longer environed by Indians and Spaniards, is yet first 
in its historic associations, and to it we may soon give 
a less divided interest. 

The whole state now contained over eighty-five 
thousand white and over fortv-two thousand colored 
inhabitants. Of these, in Clarke and the surrounding 
region were about one-fifth, or sixteen thousand, of 
the white inhabitants. 

The first chartered academy of the state was at St. 
Stephens, the charter having been granted in 1811, 
although the academy was not fully organized till 1814. 

The first steamboat company was also organized at 
St. Stephens in 1818. But as late as 1820 nearly all 
the river transportation was on barges and flatboats. 
12 



178 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINCtS. 

A paper, The Halcyox, had been started at St. 
Stephens in 1814, and now, in 1S20, The Clarion began 
to be published at Claiborne. 

The principal towns of the new state, most of which 
had so lately been Indian hunting grounds, were, in 
1820, Huntsville, Florence, Montgomery, Cahawba, 
Claiborne, St. Stephens, and Mobile. St. Stephens 
was then, and continued to be for many years, a 
United States land otRce ; but Cahawba became the 
new capital in 1820. These counties were now around 
Clarke : Mobile, Baldwin, Monroe, Wilcox, Marengo, 
and Washington. (Choctaw county was not established 
until December 29, 181:7). Clarke county extended 
eastward only to the Choctaw line ; but by act of the 
Alabama legislature, November 28, 1821, the eastern 
part of Suggsville was transferred from Monroe to 
Clarke. Other additions were made at three diiferent 
times until the limits of the county became what they 
are now. 

In 1800 the entire population of this region, then 
Washington county, was seven hundred and thirty - 
three white and five hundred and seventeen colored 
inhabitants. 

Baldwin county was organized in 1809, taking a part 
of "the fork," and having its couit house west of the 
Tombeckbee, at Mcintosh Bluff. It contained in 1810 
six hundred and sixty-seven whites, and in 1820 six 
hundred and fifty-one. Its location has been changed. 
It is now, in area, the largest county in the state, con- 
taining sixteen hundre 1 square miles, "is a vast pine 
forest," and exports more lumber than any other 
county in the state. 

Monroe, organized in 1815, had in 1820 five tliou- 
sand white inhabitants. 



CLARKE AND MARENGO. 179 

Marengo, organized in 181S, and settled at first by 
a colony of French imperialists, contained in 1S20 two 
thousand white inhabitants. 

Wilcox, formed in 181!». had in 1820 fifteen hundred 
whites. 

Mobile county, established by proclamation of the 
governor of the territory in 1813, had in 1820 sixteen 
hundred white inhabitants. 

Of the original Washington, containing in islu two 
thousand whites, only a small part was now remaining. 

The white inhabitants of Clarke, Monroe then hav- 
ing so much of its present area, were in 1820 nearly 
four thousand, and the colored were more than two 
thousand. 

It thus appears that of these seven counties Clarke 
was at this time exceeded by Monroe alone in the num- 
ber of inhabitants, Monroe extending then west of the 
Alabama to the old Choctaw line. 

The foundations for a prosperous growth are now 
laid between the rivers : but before noticing the events 
in this growth, it will be interesting to glance north- 
ward into Marengo. An old resident of Clarke county 
])laces the period of rapid immigration from 1817 to 
ls30. In every direction, then, wherever the eye is 
turned, we may expect to see new settlers. 

Southward at first and then northward let us look. 

iS^apoleon the Great has f()ught his last battle; on 
the field of Waterloo the star of his destiny has become 
blood-red and passes, like a meteor, away behind the 
lonely island of rock-bound St. Helena. But still the 
abdicated emperor has many faithful friends. For 
them France is no home of safety and repose ; and 
across the Atlantic, over whose blue waves the em- 



180 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

poi'or had parsed t(^ his prison home, they seek an 
asylum, a refuge, aud a home, where freedom chiims 
a rich aud broad donuiiu. 

The 0^)iigress of the Uuited States g-rauted to them, 
in March 1817. four towu ships of hind, or one huu- 
dred and forty-four square miles, on conditions which 
included the cultivation of the olive aud the vine. In 
May of 1818 a stranger vessel had entered the bay 
of Mobile. Narrowly escaping shipwreck, the p.issen- 
gers re ch the city, procure a barge, and proceed up 
the river. They are refugees from sunny France ; men 
who have been used in camps and courts to move ; 
"generals who had won laurels in the proudest iields 
of European valor and assisted in the dethronement 
and coronation of monarchs over millions of subjects ; 
and ladies who had tigured in the voluptuous drawing- 
rooms of St. Cloud, and glittered in the smiles and 
tavor of Josephine and of Marie Antc^inette.'" The 
French, but not as in the eighteenth century, are again 
upon our rivers. They have come to be neighbors to 
the hardy pioneers of Clarke, neighbors to the men 
and the women who have driven Creek warriors from 
their limits and are inured to the ways of the wilder- 
ness. 

The large barge stops at Fort Stoddard, and the 
exi'ed grandees of France find hospitable entertainment 
at the hands of Judge Toulmin. Visiting General 
Gaines, then commanding a large force at Fort Mont- 
gomery, they go up the Tombigbee, the}' land at St. 
Stepluns, "'a place of some size, with refined and lively 
inhabitants.'' They p oceed up the river in another 
barge, and at length find a location in the true cane- 
brake regiitn of the river wilds, a region extending over 



CLARKE AND MARENGO. 181 

some three hundred S(j[uare miles, a mighty forest "of 
cane of marvelous size." Here, near the confluence ot 
the Warrior and the Tombigbee, thev undertake, all 
unfitted as they are, to subdue the wilderness, to plant 
the olive and the vine, and to make homes for them- 
selves and their little ones. 

During that year of 1818 about four hundred of 
these French exiles arrived and foi-med the colony 
called Marengo. One village was called Demopolis 
and another was called Linden. Here were, among 
these singular pioneers, these neighbors of the set- 
tlers in Bashi and Tallahatta, in Satil])a, and in 
"the fork," Count Charles Lefebvre-Desnouettes, a 
lieutenant-general under Xapoleon, Colonel Nicholas 
Raoul, whose wife was Marchioness of Sinabaldi in 
other days, and had been maid of honor to Queen 
Caroline Murat of Naples, John A. Peniers, who had 
been a member of the National Assembly, Colonel 
J. J. Cluis, Captain Grouchy, son of the distinguished 
marshal, and others of more or less distinction in 
European wars and politics. Great was the contrast 
between these restless men and these women, accus- 
tomed to the life and attractions of a kingly court, 
and their more hardy neighbors on the south. Very 
singular was the scene which they would present to 
the eye of a traveller, as in their lowly cabins the 
women would be attending to domestic affairs or culti- 
vating their little gardens, while the men undertook 
to cut down the trees, to clear the land, and to make 
vineyards and olive-yards. Singular too must have 
been the appearance presented when these trained and 
accomplished soldiers of an empire would perform 
muster duty and be drilled under an ordinary pioneer 



182 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

militia captain. The following; incident li.ts been pre 
served. Said a citizen to a traveller who was passing- 
in 1819 from one of their villages named Areola to 
Eaglesville, ''Do you know, sir, who is that tine- 
looking man who just ferried you across the creek ?" 
" Ko. Who is he?" ''That, sir, is the officer who 
commanded Napoleon's advance guard when he re- 
turned from Elba." It was Colonel Raoul, a Marengo 
ferryman, and afterward a general in France. 
I One day there met in the river wilds, where is now 
the town and then was starting the village of Demop- 
olis, invited to dine at a hospitable table in a humble 
home. General Juan Rico, a native of Valencia, but 
then exiled from Spain, and General Desnouettes, the 
former of whom had commanded the troops of Spain 
and the latter the troops of France at the siege of 
Saragossa. Both were exiles from their native lands^ 
fr. 'Ui lands often arrayed against each other in deadly 
strife. Both had led armies of well trained European 
troops. Both seemed far away then from any ambi- 
tious prospects. Together they dined that day in 
peace and talked of the great events of the past. 

Among these Tombigbee, Marengo settlers, was 
one distinguished for literarj' attainments, Simon 
Chaudron, an editor, a poet, an orator. He died in 
Mobile in 1846. These men, and the French girls and 
women who are with them, into whose homes we may 
not look, are romantic neighbors for the American 
pioneers of Clarke. But it is now 1820, and leaving 
this French colony, with all its romance and fascina- 
tion, to try a vine and olive experiment in the wilder- 
ness ; we return to those who are far more likely to 
be successful in opening the large plantations for the 
cultivation of the snowv white cotton. 



CLARKE AND MARENGO. 183 

Some four Imndred American families were now 
south of latitude thirty-two degrees, and between the 
Toinbigbee and Alabama rivers. Although at this 
time that portion lying east of the water-shed was 
culled Monroe, as it afterward became a part of Clarke. 
the inhabitants there may frequently be found men- 
tioned in these chapters as early settlers of Clarke. 
Among these were Greenlee, who had the store on 
Cedar Creek, J. King, who married a daughter of 
General Joseph Chambers, Bronson Barlow, the large 
Wilson family, C. Worley, Thomas McConnel, Charles 
Stokes, and Noah Agee, having plantations on or near 
the river between Gosport and Gainestown. There 
were also, south of Suggsville, the families of John 
French, of H. Finch, of "W. Ezell ; in Suggsville the 
Portis and Rivers families ; and, in the neighborhood, 
the families of Hayden, Slater, Fisher, Emmons, 
Creagh, Barnes, and others, whose names will appear 
somewhere in these memorials. There were also in 
the '"fork" three families of much earlier date, the 
Holder family, natives of the territory, the Bates 
family, Joseph Bates, it is said, having been born in 
Washingtoii county about a hundred years ago, and 
the Duncan family. Benjamin Duncan, who mariied 
a Holder, was considered to be a man of unusual 
common sense. 

No one can reasonably expect to find here the 
names of even the four hundred families of 1820. 
Many of them, and of those who became resi lents in 
later years, niay be woven into the narrative, as it 
proceeds. 

Suggsville seems to have been at this period the 
most advanced town in the county in respect to culti- 



184 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS, 

vated and wealthy families, educational and religious 
interests, and general enterprise. 

Early physicians here were Dr. Alexander Tucker 
and Dr. Huston. Also Dr. Whyte, a son of Judge 
Whyte, who was shot in the town in consequence of 
a game of cards, a game which he was induced, with 
great reluctance on his part, to play. 

Dr. Stewart probably succeeded Dr. Tucker. He 
commenced raising the castor-oil bean and manufac- 
turing oil. He had ten acres in this bean, probably, 
in the year 1825. 

Leaving for a time the growing interests, the tan- 
nery and shoe-factory, the gins and mills, the oil 
factory and the cotton plantations, the pleasant fami- 
lies, the increasing wealth, comfort, and refinement, 
centered around Fort Madison, we may now glance 
along the boundary line between Marengo and Clarke. 

It is somewhat singular that so late as 18 YY few if 
any of the citizens of Clarke knew exactly their north- 
ern boundary. Even the officials of the two coun- 
ties, the tax assessors, were uncertain which border- 
families belonged to the jurisdiction of Marengo and 
which belonged to the jurisdiction of Clarke, and some 
families, it was said, because of this uncertainty, paid 
tax in neither county. This uncertainty must have 
arisen from the nature of the boundary line. Before 
the United States survey, in 1805, as elsewhere stated, 
the Choctaw Indians sold to the United States lands 
bounded by the Tonibigbee and Alabama water-shed, 
and an east and west line running from a post, in a 
mound, called in this history the Choctaw corner, west- 
ward to the Fulluctabuna Old Fields on the Tombeck- 
bee. This boundary line does not seem to have fallen 



CLARKE AND MARENGO. 185 

upon a section line in the United States land survey, 
along it many fractions exist, and no record has yet 
come to liglit of a reguUir survey of that east and west 
line. 

The vp-ater-shed line between Monroe and Clarke was 
re-traced by a survej^or, John Jones, who said, it was 
about as easy to follow that line as it would be to 
follow the trail of a dog with a tin pan tied to his tail. 

The proper Choctaw corner-post, according to the 
best maps, should be near the range line between 
ranges two and three east, in township twelve, and 
near the southeast corner of section twenty-four. This 
location gives to Clarke county two rows of sections 
in the ranges of township twelve. The assessor of 
Marengo county for 1877 allows to Clarke county two 
and two-thirds rows of sections across the south part 
of township twelve, range two east. 

Leaving this singularly uncertain line we may now 
look for the inhabitants. 

The northern part of Clarke and the south of 
Marengo, the strip of country lying between the set- 
tlements of "the fork" proper, and the French colony 
near Demopolis, remained, to quite an extent, unoc- 
cupied for some years after the Creek war ended. 
The bottom lands of Bashi and Horse Creek were 
covered with heavy cane-brake as late as 1824. Some 
of this cane was so large that one joint, it is said, 
would hold a pint, and that travellers used it for car- 
rying water. 

Among the early residents near Bashi were John 
Loftin and William Williams, settling in 1819. 

The first mill on Bashi was built by Nathan Lips- 
combe, a short distance below the Choctaw corner. 



186 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Two years afterward a saw-mill was erected on the 
same creek. Before tlie erection of this mill pnn- 
cheons were nsed for floors, or plank cut by a whip- 
saw. The chimneys were made of sticks and clay, the 
builders using also lime obtained from the cave shells 
and from the rocks. Large quantities of shells, were 
in these earlier years of the Lime Hills' settlement, 
taken from the caves and made into lime for building 
purposes. The rock was not suitable for the erection 
of chimneys like that in the central parts of the county. 
The saw-mill just mentioned was started by Joseph 
Hearn, who sold it afterward to Barney Pope. The 
first cotton gin in the north of the county, so far as 
tradition asserts, was built by W. Williams for John 
Loftin in 1825. The same year Archibald and M. 
Campbell established the first store in the north of 
Clarke. Dr. Earle, the first physician here, located 
on the Torabigbee, is assigned to the year 1824. He 
did not confine his attention to his profession, but 
brought from Georgia large droves of cattle that they 
might enjoy the luxuriant pasturage and also increase 
his resources. He seems to have been a trader, and 
was state senator in 1827. The first school in this 
Bashi region, according to tradition, was taught by 
Lewis Spinks, in 1829. The chestnut trees were 
abundant then over these lime hills, furnishing, in 
the autumn months, such pleasure for the children, 
as they and the squirrels would gather the brown 
nuts. These trees very generally died out about 
1836. 

In 1824 settlers had begun to come more rapidly 
into this part of the county. Among others the fol- 
lowing family names belong to this period of immi- 



CLARKE AND MARENGO. 187 

gration : Anderson, Merri weather, White, Dewitt, 
Crensliaw, Kniglit, and Paine. The Xoble faniil)'^ 
and others on Satilpa were earlier settlers. 

There were now, in the county, three principal 
neigliborhoods, the upper, the central, the lower ; 
called the Lot'tin, Magoffin, and Fort Madison settle- 
ments. 

The villages of Coffeeville, Jackson, Clarksville, 
and Suggsville were also in existence. In these days 
persons at a distance were neighbors. Many would go 
ten miles to help their neighbors roll logs. 

At this time bears were abundant, and large gray 
and black wolves, in .the cane-brakes. It was danger- 
ous to be exposed, and dangerous to be lost. The 
old settlers relate that a colored woman was lost in 
the dense woods and could not be found. She chanced 
to escape the bears in her wanderings, and, at 
last, almost famished, reached in the forest a lone 
settler's cabin. Here she was cared for, and reached 
her home alter an absence of three weeks. 

An amusing story is told by some, who are yet liv- 
ing in Clarke, in which a sujyposed hear is concerned. 
The occurrence is located eastward, toward Lower Peach 
Tree. A planter had a field of corn, not very securely 
fenced. Plis neighbor had a drove of forty hogs, and 
these were accustomed to break into the corn field, 
doing no little damage. One day the planter caught 
one of the liogs, (the swine of those days had long 
limbs and were swift of foot, ) and fastened a bear skin 
securely on the prisoner. The bear-like hog was then 
let loose and endeavored, of course, to re-join his com- 
panions. They, however, mistaking him for a true 
bear, started immediatelv from the field on that swift 



188 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

gallop characteristic of the half-wild, pioneer hog. 
Thirty-nine were counted, one in wild pursuit after the 
otlier, the fortieth, with the fierce looking bear-skiu, 
bringing up the rear. And here the tradition divides. 
One story is that the owner chanced to see them and 
turned the line of flight toward home ; and the other 
is, that the wearied ones dropped out of rank and took 
refuge in the woods, and that the last ever seen of the 
forty corn .thieves was a passing glance which a di-tant 
neighbor caught of one lone, frightened, almost ex- 
hausted porker, still running as for dear life, and close 
behind him was something that looked like a bear but 
was running after the manner of a woods hog. Both 
accounts agree that the corn-field suiFered no further 
depredations. 

A sad narrative is also given, on Bashi, connected 
with wolves. Mike Johnson was about ten years of 
age, and, like little Red Riding-hood, he left his home 
to go upon some errand in the broad light of day. He 
went alone into the forest and the wolves came upon 
him. There was no human ear near to hear his cry for 
help. His feet could bear him to no place of safety. 
His hands had not the strength to do battle with the sav- 
age monsters. Ravenous and fierce and pitiless they 
gathered round him. It was hard thus to yield up 
his young life, but no rescuer came. The sharp fangs 
tore his flesh, the red tongues lapped his blood; and 
all that his friends could find of this active boy, when 
later in the day they began a diligent search, was some 
mangled bone which the hungry wolves had not de- 
voured. This event is placed by early settlers as late 
as 1828; and this record is that mangled and wolf-eaten 
boy's only monument. Such boys can j^ass the forest 



CLARKE AND MARENGO. 189 

patliwajs now in safety. Those denizens of these 
woods are gone. Let the name of liim tliat thus per- 
islied liv^e. 

Returning now to the central part of the county, and 
to the administration of civil affairs, we may briefly 
notice some items concerning the Orphans Court and 
County Court of Clarke county. And, although ex- 
tending beyond the limits of the history belonging to 
this chapter, the names of the judges and their terms of 
office will be here inserted, coming up to the present 
time. 

Records o^ Orphans Court, and County Court of 
Clarke county, Ala. 

First court held in 1813 — minutes headed as fol- 
lows: 

"At an Orphans Court begun and held for the 
county of Clarke, in the Mississippi Territory, at John 
Landrum's, on the first Monday in February, a.d. 1813. 
Present: The Worshipful John Caller, Esqr., Chief 
Justice of said Court, and John Dean, William 
McGrew, and James Kirk})atrick, assistant Justices." 

The last court presided over by Chief Justice John 
Caller was held the 18th May, 1813. Minutes signed: 

John Caller, Chief Justice. 
James Bradberry, Clerk. 

The next term of thu Orphans Court was held 25th 
and 26th March, 1814. The 25th "at the house of 
John Landrum," opened by John Dean, Sen. Justice, 
and "the Court adjourned until to-morrow at ten 
o'clock, to meet at Fine Level on the 26th.'* "The 
Court met according to adjournment. Present : The 
Worshipful Joseph Phillips, Esqr., Chief Justice, and 
John Dean and William Cochran, Justices of the 
quorum."" 



190 CLARKE ATSTD ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Said Court was held lltli Dec. 1S15, "at the 
house of Dr. Biddlix in the Pine Level, before Joseph 
Phillips, Esqr., Chief Justice." 

The last court j^resided over bv" Chief Justice Phil- 
lips was "held at the house of John Landrum, de- 
ceased, on the 6th Maj, 1816." 

L. J. Alston as Chief Justice presided over the 
Orphans Court and County Court, from Nov. 1816, till 
May, 1821, during which time the names of John 
Dean, William Cochran, William Murrel, Elijah Pugh, 
Nathan Christmas, Ira Portis, Wm. L. Paris, Jamer- 
son Andrews, Joseph B. Chambers, Samuel B. Shields, 
Thomas Matlock, Thomas Portis, and James Kirkpat- 
rick, appear as "Justices of the quorum." The senior 
Justice present presided in the absence of the Chief 
Justice. 

During the year 1817 this was changed from Miss. 
Territory to Alabama Territory — and from Nov.l81T, 
to August, 1819, these Courts were "held in and for 
Clarke County, Alabama Territory." Alabama be- 
came a State in 1819. From Feb. 1813 to the 

Courts were held at private houses. The first Court 
house for Clarke County was erected in 18 — at 
Clarkesville, 7 miles west from Grove Hill, and 
the Courts were held there till the county seat was 
moved to Macon (now Grove Hill) in 1833. First 
court held at Macon 28th Dec. 1832. 

Previous to January, 1824, the "Minutes of the 
Orphans Court, County Court, and Court of Commis- 
sioners of Roads and Revenue, were kept in the same 
book; but in separate books from and after that date. 

Prior to Sept. 1821, only two regular terms of the 
Orphans Court were held in each year. — Occasional 



CLARKE AND MARENGO. 191 

Special oi- Intermediate terms were held. Monthly 
terms since Sept. 1821. 

1. From Sept., 1821, to January, 1823, John G. "^ 
Creagh presided in the Orphans Court, as Judge 
thereof. 

2. Robert Lee was Judge from Jan. 1823, to Jan. 
1821. 

3. Edward Kennedy was Judge from Feb. 1S21: to 
Jan. 1827. 

4. Samuel Wilkinson was Jndge from Apr. 1827, to 
Nov. 1833. 

5. Wm. R. Hamilton was Judge from Jan. 1834, to 
, 1838. 

6. Wm. T. Jones was Judge from Jan. 1838, to 
Dec. 1838. 

7. Joseph P. Portis was Judge from Jan. 1S39, to 
Dec. 1841:. 

8. Terrell Powers was Judge from Jan. 1845, to 
May, 1850. 

9. H. W. Coate (Judge Probate Court)" was Judge 
from May, 1850, to May, 1856. 

10. Z. L. Bettis was Judge from May, 1856, to Feb. 
1866. 

11. Isaac Grant was Judge from Feb. 1866, to May. 
1866. 

12. R. J. Woodard was Judge from May, 1866, to 
8th Aug. 1868. 

13. J. R. Wilson was Judge from Nth Aug. 1868, t(j 
Nov. 1880. 

For the above records of the courts and judges the 
author gratefully acknowledges his indebtedness to the 

* "'Orphans Court" changed to "Probate Court" in May 1850. H. \V. Coate 
was the first Judije of tlie Probate Court. 



192 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

patient research of Judge R. J. Woodard. whose care- 
fulness and intelligent familiarity with the records are 
a sufficient guarantee ,of their correctness. 

The blanks above should probably be filled by the 
date 1820 or 1831 ; for it seems that in 1818, in Novem- 
ber, Lemuel J. Alston, Alexander Kilpatrick, Joseph 
Hearn, Solomon Boykin, Wm. Coleman, Wni. Ander- 
son, and Wm. Goode, Sen., were appointed by the ter- 
ritorial legislature to select a location for a court-house. 
And again in 1819, these not seeming to have agreed 
upon any locality, Wm. A. Robertson, Joseph B. 
Earle, John Loftin, Samuel B. Shields, Wm. F. Ezell, 
Robertus Love, and Edmund Butler, were appointed 
commissioners to locate the county seat. In this same 
year the courts were ordered to be held at the house of 
Wm. Coate. A place was selected not far from the 
residence of Wm. Coate, and named Clarkesville. 
Here a village soon commenced to grow, and here the 
courts were held and county officials and lawyers re- 
sided until 1832. 

According to Brewer, Clarke county did not extend 
south of the line of township five, or four miles south 
of Jackson, until about 1822. 

The road from Choctaw Corner to Grove Hill was 
opened in 1825. The road from Choctaw Corner to 
Wood's Bluff was opened in 1828. These are tradi- 
tional dates, and this latter road is said to have been 
only a path in 1834. It is now one of the best car- 
riage roads in the county. The landing at the Bluff 
was established about 1826. 

Among the Lime Hills, in the Bashi or Loftin 
neighborhood, the first family carriage was introduced 
about 1830. In this Mrs. Upchurch and her two 



CLARKE AND MARENGO. 193 

(Uingliters were accustomed to ride when going to 
make visits or to attend church. 

As yet, in this chapter, little mention has been made 
of tliat locality which finally became the county-seat, 
bearing the names of Smithville, Macon, and Grove 
Hill. 

Magoffin's store, a little north of the town locality, 
Avas a place of c<nisiderable business in ISIT, and some 
families had o])ened plantations in diiferent directions 
around this center ; but no village had started on that 
plateau now called Grove Hill. Some fine groves of 
oak still remain, wliicli were not cut down for the first 
plantations there. The existence of Fort White is 
evidence that several families had settled, before 1813, 
around, and perhaps upon, this level height. In 1824 
the Dickinson family were residing near the present 
location of the "Male and Female Academy" ; Mrs. 
Wright lived, in 1826, about where the court house 
now stands ; one mile east Hiram Tomm}^ was living ; 
General Chambers had built the "White-House"; 
and Chapman and Pugh families were already in the 
edge of that range of hills on the west of the table- 
land. Probably village life was beginning in this 
locality as earlj- as 1830 ; but few traces of a town or 
village appear in the memorials here gleaned, until 
the establishment of the county seat in 1832. 

About thirty-nine hundred white and thirty-seven 
hundred colored inhabitants are now in the few vil- 
lages and upon the hundreds of plantations scattered 
over the county. The ten years which close with 1830 
have been years of progress and improvement, but not 
3^ears of active immigration or of much increase of 
white population ; for the number of white inhabitants 
13 



194 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

added during the whole ten years has only been one 
hundred and sixteen, the United States census reports 
being taken as authority. The colored inhabitants, 
however, in the same time, have increased in number 
one thousand six hundred and forty. 

It thus appears that this region, trodden by Span- 
iards, inhabited or first settled, by French and Spanish 
rovers, by British royalist refugees, and by enterpris- 
ing American pioneers, is in some sense already 
becoming "old" ; that its four hundred families, hav- 
ing established themselves a§ permanent holders of 
the soil, are giving their attention to the increase of 
wealth, and to building up a prosperous planting com- 
munity. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

CLARKE COUNTY, 1830 TO 1840. 

" rr^HE solitudes of Alabama were fast awaking 
I from the sleep of uiimimbered ages."' — Brew- 
ster. 1830. 

No doubt, in many parts of the great state of Ala- 
bama there were remaining in 1830 magnificent soli- 
tudes ; (there are such still ;) but busy life, varied 
forms of industry, a prospering planting community, 
were now in the heart of the Alabama Pine Belt, along 
the streams and on the broad uplands and among the 
lime hills. 

In L831, by act of the legislature, that part of 
Wilcox lying west of the middle of range four, in town- 
ships eleven and twelve, including the Choctaw Corner 
settlement, was made a part of Clarke county. The 
Choctaw line or water-shed had before this time been 
the county boundary. 

In 1832, as elsewhere mentioned, the county seat 
was removed from Clarksville to Grove Hill, then 
called Smith ville or Macon ; the court was first held 
there December 28th of that year. 

The principal villages were now Suggsville, Jack- 
son, CoflPeeville, the declining Clarksville, and the 
new and growing Macon ; also, commencing village 
life, Choctaw Corner and Gainestown. 

The first hotel at Grove Hill was kept by Tom 
Brown, a free colored man. At his hotel Gov. Bagby 
and other lawyers made their home, when attending 
the courts. 



19() CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

In tlie course of the ten years included in this chap- 
ter new enterprises were commenced, improvements 
were made, and incidents and events occurred, a brief 
record of which will form the staple of the narrative 
for the present. 

William B. Travis, who was a lawyer at Clarks- 
ville, instead, of establishing himself at Grove Hill, 
removed to Texas and became there one of the heroes 
of the Alamo. Dr. Samuel Wilkinson, an early set- 
tler at Clarksville, a man of respectable talents and 
of good education, who was judge of the county court 
from 18^7 to 1833, removed to Grove Hill. In 1834 
he became state senator. He was gentlemanhy and 
affable, and had an extensive practice as a physician. 
He had several sons and one daughter. The daughter 
was a young lady of uncommon intelligence. After 
residing in Grove Hill a few years this family removed 
to Union Town in Perry county. 

Educational interests in these years received atten- 
tion, while the plantations were becoming larger, the 
hands to work them more numerous, and the material 
interests were gaining rapidly. 

Pendleton Academy at Coffeeville was incorporated 
in 1833. How long it continued in existence or how 
successful it proved has not been ascertained. An 
institution about which more is known, called the 
Franklin Academy, at Suggsville, was opened in the 
fall of 1836, "B. H. Sturges, Rector." At the same 
time or a little earlier the Female Academy at Suggs- 
ville was first opened, "a superior and fine toned 
Piano Forte" having been procured for this school in 
the fall of this year, when instrumental music seems 
for the first time to have been here regularly taught. 



ci.ARKK COUNTY. \U7 

The Suggsville Iiistitntc for young ladies, l)y Afr. 
and Mrs. Pilate, seems to have opened in -Inly 1837. 
They advertised to teacli nnisic on piano, guitar, and 
harp. Vocal music with piano and guitar was at the 
rate of one hundred dollars a year. The same with the 
harp was one hundred and twenty dollars. 

The rates of tuition in this school were, b}' the year, 

General Instruction $32. 

^:xTR.\s. 

French 24. 

Italian 40. 

Spanish 40. 

Botany 24. 

Drawing and Painting 24. 

P)oard and Washing 120. 

Mrs. McCary, wife of the Editor of the Clarke 
County Post, was Principal of the Female Academy. 
The Institute did not continue in existence long ; but 
the two academies were permanent institutions, accom- 
plishing under various teachers, a large amount of edu- 
cational work. 

Although the great agricultural interest was i-aising 
cotton, the rearing of silk-worms and making silk, which 
at this time enlisted the interest of many in the Xortli, 
reached the enterprising citizens of Suggsville, and to 
feed these worms the Morns Multiccudis^ or Many- 
stemmed Mulberry, was extensively cultivated arouiul 
the village in 1835. 

The people of the county took alivel}' interest in the 
Texas struggle of 1836, as they also did in the Florida 
or Seminole War which began the year before. In this 
a number of the citizens had taken an active part. On 
the eighteenth of May, 1836, a meeting was held in 



198 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Suggsville to express the sentiments of the connnu- 
nity concerning tlieir patriotic fellow citizens who had 
"volunteered to suppress the ravages of the Indians 
in Florida " Of this meeting Col. Gr. W. Creagh was 
Chairman and W. F. Jones Esq. Secretary. The 
object of the meeting was explained by CoL B. C. 
Foster. Commendatory resolutions were adopted and 
a committee was appointed to invite Lieut. B. R. 
Mobley to partake of a public dinner at Suggsville in 
"evidence of the high esteem in which" he was held 
by his fellow citizens. The festivities of this occasion 
were held on Friday May 27. After the formal recep- 
tion "W. F. Jones Esq. addressed him on behalf of 
the citizens in a brief and appropriate style, to which 
Lieut. Mobley as briefly and happily replied." The 
company then proceeded to the residence of J. P. Portis 
and partook of a sumptuous repast. The following sen- 
timent was offered by Col. B. C. Foster: "Lieutenant 
B. R. Mobley — Long may he live to partake of the 
reward due to virtue, bravery, and patriotism." 

Col. Foster and probably most of the prominent 
men of that eventful period have ceased to mingle in 
the social and political affairs of earthly life ; they sleep 
witli their fathers ; but Lieut., now known as Col. 
Mobley, is still living at an advanced age, a resident 
now of Choctaw Corner, at the home of his son Dr. 
Mobley. 

In this same year a new Creek War called forth the 
patriotic services of the citizens. Orders came from 
the state authorities for men from Clarke county to 
march into the Creek Nation. The Macon Cavalry of 
Clarke county had been requested to attend at Suggs- 
ville in full uniform on Saturday, May 28. The request 



CLARKE COUNTY. 199 

was issued by Thomas Hearin, Cornet. On that day, 
liowever, a large concourse of citizens assembled at the 
court house. Colonels G. W. Creagh and B. C. Foster 
raised a company of volunteers. One hundred names 
were soon enrolled. G. "W. Creagh was chosen Captain ; 
B. C. Foster, Lieutenant; and J. M. Chapman Ensign. 
On Monday, May 30, the volunteers assembled at 
Suggsville, on their way to Claiborne, where they were 
to receive their arms ; and at eleven o'clock they were 
ready for marching orders. After forming in line of 
march, the Honorable W. R. Hamilton, of Suggsville, 
"delivered a short and appropriate address," at the 
conclusion of which, amid "the deafening huzzas of the 
assembled mnltitade," the order was given to march, 
and these young men of Clarke started for the scenes 
of Indian strife. 

How little did any then -think that in twenty-tive 
years there would be gatherings and partings on that 
same spot for a much more stern and bloody conflict. 
(The waters, in the latter part of this month of May, 
were unusually high. Heavy rains had fallen. The 
streams on Saturday, May 28th, were so swollen that 
many citizens were unable to reach Grove Hill. The 
Alabama river, on the 2Tth was some thirty feet above 
low water mark, rising about fifteen feet in twenty-four 
hours. ) On Friday, August 12th, the Clarke county 
troops having .returned from this Creek War, a dinner 
was provided for them by the patriotic citizens of Cof- 
feeville and vicinity. John G. Creagh was President 
of tlie day, and Richard Q. Dickinson Vice President. 
Seventeen toasts were offered, representing the various 
sentiments of that day. The following was the ninth : 

"77/^ Oonstitiition of the United States. Before we 



200 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS, 

will consent to its violation we will act the part of Vir- 
ginius." On Thursday, August 18th, another diinier 
was given at Choctaw Corner "by the patriotic citi/.ens 
oftlie neighborhood, as a mark of honor to their fellow 
citizens, late Volunteei's and Drafted men in the Creek 
campaign.'" Nine toasts expressed tlie sentiments of 
this assembly. 

The following is a copy of most of them. ••!. 
Washington. The soldier's study in camp ; the sol- 
dier's pride and glor}^ in moments of recreation. 

2. T/ie soldiers of the Revolution. They taught 
the valuable lesson, that it was only necessary for man 
to will his freedom and it was achieved. 

3. Our Country.^'' (Most of this is missing.) 

"4. Our Militia. In the hour of danger our coun- 
try's safeguard and protection. 

5. Our Guests., Who at the sound of the war- 
whoop nobly seized their arms and rushed to the 
rescue. 

5. Texas. May her government be free and en- 
lightened as her troops were brave and chiv-ab'ous at 
the battle of San Jacinto. 

7. Education. Let a people know their interest 
and they will preserve it. 

8. Liberty.''^ (A part of this and the ninth are 
wanting.) 

The following sentiments were toasts at one of the 
dinners above mentioned ; and the j^robability, amount- 
ing almost to a certainty, is, that they were adopted at 
Suggsville, May 27th.* 

"1, The lojte officers and soldiers of Clarke County. 
They will long live in the hearts of their fellow citizens. 

* The copy waf unfortunately mislaid among the aullior's noter<. 



CLARKE COUNTY, 201 

2. TJie State of Alahama. May soiuul politics and 
virtue grow with lier growth and strengthen with her 
strength. 

3. The Union of these States. May it ever continue. 

4. Tilt Nacy of the United States. The strongest 
arm of American power, may it never be paralyzed. 

5. President Jaohson. May his declining days be 
crowned with peace. 

6. Our Virtuous Fair. Always lovely, but most 
so in the domestic circle. 

7. The Heroes of Seventy-six. We believe their 
patriotic blood still flows in the veins of their progeny. 

8. May Texas continue as she began, and never 
cease until she is free. 

9. The nohle fabric of our RijjuhJ'C. Reared by the 
hands of sages, cemented by the blood of patriots, may 
it last till the dissolution of all earthly governments." 

Such were some of the sentiments which the Indian 
troubles and the Texas struggle for independence called 
forth from the liberty loving citizens of that generation. 
Forty years, bringing many changes, have passed 
away, and their descendants love civil and religious 
freedom still. 

Agricultural pursuits were now carried steadily on. 
But the speculative tendency of the times reached even 
among the pines of Clarke. A southern writer has 
humorously portrayed what have been well called the 
"Flush Times of Alabama." As conveying to the 
citizens, especially to the young men of Clarke, some 
idea of these flush times just before the great financial 
crash of 1837, the following advertisement is inserted, 
taken from the Clarke County Post of August 1st 
1836. 



202 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

"To Capitalists. 

Extensive Sale of Valuable Real Estate. On Mon- 
day, 30tli of September next, will be sold at public 
auction, on a liberal credit, in front of the Exchange, 
in Snggsville, one hundred and twenty one splendid 
building lots, situated on the following streets, viz : 
Broad, Mulberry, Pearl, Depeyster, Van Ransaleer, 
Van Buren, and Tennessee — Also, immediately after 
the sale of the above, will be offered, one hundred and 
ninety lots, of ten acres each, suitable for gardens, 
country residences, and mill seats. None of said lots 
being more than ten miles from town ; and their con- 
tiguity to Bassett's Creek, which is navigable by law 
for boats not drawing over six inches water — on this 
stream, will undoubtedly be located the depot for the 
contemplated rail road connecting the waters of the 
Alabama and Tennessee — this renders them peculiarly 
valuable. To distant readers we will observe, that 
Suggsville is a beautiful village, situated in -the very 
centre of Clarke county ; and is only nine miles from 
Gosport, fourteen miles from Gainestown, twelve miles 
from Smiths ville, and ten miles from Talbert's wood 
yard. The State of Alabama, will undoubtedly estab- 
lish a bank and place a branch of the same with a capi- 
tal of one million here, and we look confidently for its 
operation to commence early next fall. Lithographic 
maps of the property may be seen at most of the book 
stores in the State, and at the store of T. Brown, Esq., 
in Smithsville.'''' 

As another example, four hundred valuable lots 
were advertised for sale, on the 19th of December, 
1836, in the town of Soda Springs. This town was 
situated in township 12, range 3, east, section 23, near 



CLARKE COUNTY. 203 

the heads of Turkey, Beaver, Horse, and Bashi Creeks, 
on an elevated sandy hill, "where a vast deal of busi- 
ness must and undoubtedly will be done.'' "Terms 
of sale — one and two years credit with approved se- 
curity. Commissioners, G. AY. Gilmore, Charles E. 
AVoodard, Wm McClure, N. Harrison, T. B. Hawkins, 
John B. Anderson, J. E. J. Macon.'' 

Other illustrations. Four hundred acres of swamp 
land, seventy under cultivation, some buildings on the 
place, advertised for sale "at the low price of twenty- 
five hundred dollars."" Situated six miles from Lower 
Peach Tree. Also, a tract of land on Hawkins Creek, 
number of acres not given, seven miles west of Macon, 
now Grove Hill, advertised for five thousand dollars. 

It will be interesting and instructive to turn aside 
for a moment and to look southward at the city of 
Mobile in this year of large prospective wealth and 
expansion. The following is an extract from the 
ChristixVn Index, a large religious paper of Geoi-gia, 
published March lOtli 1830, and written from Mobile : 

"About 120 years ago, a few Frenchmen came here, 
and made the first little opening in the pine forest. 
Previously to 1817, it was occupied principally as a 
place of deposit and trade with the Indians. There 
were then but two .\merican houses, and about 600 
inhabitants. Now the population is not far from 
10,000. Its exports of cotton last year were 197,000 
bales. The present year there will be not less than 
250,000, and the probable increase for ten years to 
come, will not be less that 30,000 bales per year. 
Nineteen years ago, 5,000 bales was the whole amount 
raised in the state. Then the population was 30,000. 
Now it has more than 400,000. The city revenue 



204 CLAKKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

nineteen years a,2:o, was 1,500 ; six years ago, $25,000 ; 
and the present year it will be about $70,000. -During 
the last year 300 stores and dwelling houses have 
been erected. No less than 4,000 seamen were era- 
ployed in the trade of Mobile last season ; about 500 
of whom were in port during the business months. 
Eighteen years ago, a single steam boat found her way 
to this port ; now 45 are employed in the Mobile trade. 
At the wharves there are probably 40 vessels lading 
and unlading ; and in the bay I counted at a single 
view 55 sail." 

Subscription books were opened at Grove Hill, in 
charge of Isham Kimbell and Terrel Powers, to receive 
subscriptions for capital stock of the Tennessee and 
Mobile Kail Road. 

This was only three years after the road from 
Augusta to Charleston was opened, a road extending- 
one hundred and thirty-live miles, and then "the 
longest continuous line of railroad in the world. ^'' 
The financial crash came, and the Tennessee and 
Mobile road is not completed yet. 

About this time exporting timber seems to have 
become quite a business, (1. D. Wilson of Suggsville 
advertising for men whom he could hire to cut cedar. 
The inhabitants near the great cedar "hammocks" 
had formerly made rafts of cedar timber and on these 
had floated their cotton to Mobile, selling both cotton 
and timber at good rates. But about this time a 
steam-boat, called the Native^ was built by Major 
Wilson, on Cedar Creek, and emploj^ed in the carry- 
ing trade. 

* The anUior remembers well his first introduction to railroad cars in passing 
over this road in the fall of 1833. going from his (Georgia home at Applington to 
Charleston. South Carolina. 



CLARKE COUNTY. 205 

J. R. Wilson engaged largely in shipping eechir to 
Mobile. It is said that he in a short time sent down 
tiftj thonsaiid dollars worth. An extensive tract of 
this timber now lies in township seven, range four 
east, including section thirtj-three and adjoining sec- 
tions, formerly a part of the Darrington plantation, 
originally owned by Joseph Phillips, and sometimes 
known as the Forbes tract. It is now owned by 
Osceola Wilson. 

It will tie of interest to some to look over the fol- 
lowing record of medical charges for 1837. 

A day visit $1.00. 

A night visit 2.00. 

Letters of advice 5.00. 

Verbal advice 1.00. 

Consultation 10.00. 

Riding per mile .50. 

Double rates in the rain, at night, and for over ten 
miles distance. 

Medical attendance per day $10.00. 

Medical attendance per night 12.00. 

"The persons of Ordained Ministers of the Gospel, 
Pensioners, and the Poor, attended gratis.'" 

Signed, T. B. Rivers, 

W. W. Wilson, 
C. Lindsay, 
A. B. C. Dossey, 
S. Gayle, 
A. Denny. 

The physicians at Suggsville at this time were, 
A. Denny, A. B. C. Dossey, T. B. Rivers, an<l prob- 
ably, W. W. Wilson ; at Jackson there was W. H. 
Calvert ; and at Grove Hill Samuel Wilkinson was 
probably still residing. 



206 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Merchants at Suggsville were, in 1836, G. W. 
Creagh, and Cogburn 6z Lensir ; in 1837, Portis and 
Finch; at " Gosport Retreat," Forwood and Flem- 
ing ; at Grove Hill, T, Brown. The names of those 
at Jackson, at Coffeeville, and at Choctaw Corner, at 
this period, have not reached this page of record. 

S. S. Brittingham located in Smithville, now 
Grove Hill, in 1836, and opened a shop for "carry- 
ing on the carriage making business in all its various 
bi'anches." He remained there as a citizen and a 
mechanic until after 1852. 

The Commissioners Court of Clarke county received 
proposals in February, 1837, for the erection of a fire 
proof brick building, "for a county and circuit court 
clerk's office, for the safe keeping of the records of said 
county." 

The building was to be twentj^-live feet long, fifteen 
feet wide, and ten feet high, with flagstone or brick 
floor, and with slate or tin roof. It was no doubt 
erected that same year. The roof was slate. It was 
rebuilt and enlarged in 1877. 

The familiar brick building with its two rooms, in 
which have been held so many probate and commis- 
sioners courts, where for so many years Judge Coate 
was postmaster, has therefore stood just forty years. 

The Macon Cavalry have been mentioned incident- 
ally. The date of organization of the company is not 
known. In June, 1837, another company, called the 
Clarke County Cavalry, was organized at Suggsville. 
Fine horses had been raised on the Alabama river by 
the Weatherfords and other Indian planters and traders 
many years before, and now in Clarke county were 
some excellent saddle horses. Colonel John Darring- 



CLARKE COUNTY. 207 

ton was keeping thoroughbred colts on his Cedar Creek 
plantation in 1836. Militia musters were in all these 
years conunou, and a military spirit was kept up among 
the citizens by means of the independent companies 
and the state militia regulations until about 1850. Gen- 
eral musters ceased, it is said, in this region, in 1848. 

The divisions of the count}^ it may here be ob- 
served, are called heat.s, instead of towns or townships 
as in many older and also newer states. The term 
suggests a military origin. The place within the beat 
where the citizens meet to vote is called a precinct. 
School trustees are appointed for congressional town- 
ships, but political matters and voting are connected 
with these civil divisions called beats. 

The road from Grove Hill to Tallahatta Springs was 
opened about 1838. It passes over many hills and 
through a region that seems even now like the native 
wilds. 

The last three years of this decade, from 1837 to 
1841, are mentioned by some of the older citizens as a 
period of emigration. The new lands of the regions 
lying west were begiuning to attract settlers fi'om what 
was now becoming ''old Clarke." Some thirty fami- 
lies, forming a single party, are said to have met near 
Clarksville and started together in their wagons for 
Louisiana and Texas. Among these were members of 
old families bearing the names of Chapman, Pugh, 
Cox, Daniels, and Calhoun. At different times from 
then till now Texas has had attractions for many of 
the enterprising sons and daughters of Clarke. Some 
have succeeded well in their new homes ; and some 
have wished themselves again among the sheltered val- 
leys and beside the bright streams of their youth. 



208 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Between the two dates which stand at the beginning 
of this chapter, as its two landmarks of time, there 
came into many of these peaceful, pleasant, and Chris- 
tian homes, where no Muscogee war-whoop could pen- 
etrate again, little oiies^ perchance from Paradise, and 
''trailing clouds of glory," some of whom are active 
men and women now, some of whom had beauty as 
their birthright, some of whom had fine endowments 
of mind and heart, and whose names will by and by 
appear upon these pages, and some of whom have gone 
back to Paradise. Their presence added rich sources 
of enjoyment to their parents, whose union Christian 
marriage had sanctioned and blessed ; and they were 
the jewels, more precious than all the material wealth, 
finding a commencement of existence among the flow- 
ers and fruits of this favored clime, destined to shine 
as a part of the true glory of this growing civilization. 
The story of their childhood years amid these homes 
is unwritten history, with lines as beautiful as romance, 
as strange as fiction. Could their budding lives be 
traced we might well say, looking back to the wild 
freedom of the Spanish times and to the days of those 
river settlements eighty and one hundred years ago, 
let us rather dwell where Christianity "spreads the 
nuptial couch and lights the household fires." 



CHAPTER IX. 

CLARKE COUNTY, 1840 TO 1850. 

Notwithstanding the slight emigration mentioned in 
the last chapter, the population of the county increased 
more tlian a thousand in the last ten years, and more 
than three hundred of these were added to the white 
population. Among these were those new inmates of 
the plantation and village homes, who commenced 
earthly existence in those ten years, and who, during 
the ten years which form the limit of this chapter, are 
the. growing, light-hearted boys and girls, the school 
children and the youth, the light of many homes, the 
joy of many hearts. Reminiscences of their youthful 
days they may be able to recall, as those of them now 
living read \\\e records of this chapter. For the present 
they must be left to their sports and their studies, to 
their young day dreams, and to the first buddings of 
their young affections. They are crowding on into 
life's activities, its sorrows and its joys. 

Between the years of 1840 and 1850 the rich lands 
in the northeast part of Clarke were rapidly settled. 
As late as 1810 the cane-brake was growing here. 
Before this time a McCrurdy family and a Clanton 
family had settled a few miles east of Choctaw Corner. 
About this time xVlexander M. Creagli and M. W. 
Creagh opened a large plantation near the Corner, 
bringing under cultivation the rich hill lands. This 
land had been held for some time by N. Ross, a 
blacksmith and a squatter, who failing to cultivate it, 
14 



2-10 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDHSTGS. 

died, it is said in poverty. Land must be not only 
held but cultivated in order to yield its increase. 

About 1840 tlie mule traffic, from Tennessee and 
Kentucky into the county, began to be quite a business. 
The first mule drover, whose name tradition presents 
here, was James Bottoms, assigned to the year 1843. 
The cultivation of the many large plantations soon 
required more than a thousand mules, and year by 
year additions to this number were needed. 

Sometime within this decade the Tallahatta Springs 
became a place of resort. This place was first called 
the Lowder Springs, from George Lowdee the first 
occupant. He was brutally murdered, by members of 
his own family, in 1844, with attending circumstances 
of atrocity. The odium of the deed rests upon his 
wife, who is said to have formed a criminal connection 
with another man. Such licentiousness is very sure 
to harden the heart. 

Colonel Foster, who had resided for some years 
near Suggsville, came to Bashi in 1840. He soon 
obtained the Lowder place, improved the spring local- 
ity, opened a house for guests, and had sometimes one 
hundred, invalids and rest and pleasure seekers. The 
water contains sulphur and has been considered excel- 
lent for invalids. The roads leading there are not at 
present in good order for carriages. Few therefore 
now resort to these waters for health. 

In June, 184T, the proprietor, B. C. Foster, pub- 
lished the following: "The Tallahatta Springs are 
in a broken and healthy section of the country, sur- 
rounded by mountains and high hills, between Wood's 
Bluff" and the Lower Peach Tree, fifteen miles from the 
former and twentv-two miles from the latter. The 



CLARKE COUNTY. 211 

Proprietor has erected a number of outbuildings and 
offices for tlie convenience and accommodation of 
boarders, and will furnish his table with the best that 
the Mobile market aflt'ords." Board was at this time 
five dollars by the week, and eighteen dollars a month. 

The location of this, then called, "celebrated water- 
ing place," is the same as it was ; and it ought to be 
made again a place of resort. 

During these years the planting interest went stead- 
ily on ; the people were recovering from the specula- 
tive tendencies and the reverses which preceded and 
followed the financial crisis of 1837 ; the closing up of 
the branch banks in Mobile, Montgomery, Decatur, 
and Hunts ville, in 1842, and of the parent bank in 
Tuskaloosa in 1843, by means of which banks the 
state had for some twenty years supplied its citizens 
with currency, did not very materially affect the 
planting community ; * the commission merchants at 
Mobile furnished their supplies and sold their cotton ; 
home comforts wei-e readily procured ; and thus ordi- 
nary life, and pleasure, and business, went on. 

Lawyers in 1845 were, at Grove Hill, Terrel Powers 
and J. S. Anderson ; at Suggsville, W. R. Hamilton, 
Pickett, and J. S. Williams ; at Gosport, Frederick S. 
Blount. 

Felix G. Christmas graduated at the University of 
Alabama in 1841, and Archibald H. Hope in 1846. 
Not many of the young men of Clarke seem to have 
graduated at that university. The following additional 
names have been found : Jacob Bryant in 1857, W. 
James Thornton in 1872, and L. Earle Thornton grad- 
uating in 1877. 

* A few sheriff's saloi? were advertised in 1847 to satisfy executions "in favor 
of the Branch of the P.anlv of tlie State of Alabama at Mobile." 



212 CLAKKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS, 

The home academies furnished a sufficient course 
of instruction for most of tlie young men, and also for 
the girls ; a few of the latter graduating at older or 
larger institutions at Marion and Selnia and Camden. 

The county seat was in these years improving. 

The Macon Male and Female Academy was first 
opened in September 1846. Rufus H. Kilpatrick 
A.M., Principal. 

(This school has continued, with some suspensions, 
until the present time. Quite a number of teachers 
have been connected with it. The trustees and citi- 
zens furnished it with valuable philosophical and 
chemical apparatus obtained from Boston. The care 
of this was linally neglected ; and when the war closed, 
and in 1865 the trustees returned home, nothing was 
left in the once well furnished apparatus room but the 
bare walls. ) 

The war with Mexico, which broke out in 1846, and 
which sent waves of excitement, of interest, and of 
oj)position, over the country, enlisted the sympathy 
and aid of citizens of Clarke. 

The following are the names, so far as known, of 
the volunteers from the county : C. D. Hamilton, F. 
B. Whatley, Henry Bell, T. Bell, John Brooks, John 
Ewing, Robert Taylor, Jeremiah Drinkard, Lemuel 
Drinkard, Jesse Robinson, James Tiobinson, Richard 
Montgomery, Marion York, Robert Bradley, F. W. 
Baker, A. R. Lankford, and James Gilbert. On the 
return of the troops, in 1848, Judge Meek delivered 
by appointment an oration at Mobile, on the fourth 
of July, called " National Welcome to the soldiers 
returning from Mexico." In this he reviewed, in 
beautiful language, some of the leading events and 



CLARKE COUNTY. 218 

incidents, expressing the interest which the inhabi- 
tants of this whole region had taken in the contest, 
and paying deserved tributes to General Shields. 

Some of those whose names are recorded above, 
survivors of the thousands who performed such bril- 
liant actions in Mexico, are still residing in the county, 
especially C. D. Hamiltox and F. B. Wuatley. 

About the year 1840 the first newspaper of Grove 
Hill was published, called The Mac ox Banxer. 

In January, 1847, this paper was succeeded by the 
SouTUERX Recorder, the first number of which contains 
the following as its first marriage notice: 

Married, On the 22d ult. by the Hon. Terrel Powers, 
H. W. Coate Esq., Clerk of the County Court, to Miss 
A XX E. daughter of Thomas Boroughs Esq., all of 
Clarke county, Alabama." 

The fourth of July in these years was observed more 
fully, than in later times, as the nation's birth-day. 
The editor of the Recorder secured two quite lengthy 
original essays for his issue of July 7th, the one written 
by Dr. William B. Moores, Principal of the Dayton Fe- 
male Seminary, and the other by Rufus II. Kilpatrick, 
A. M. Principal of the Macon Academies. The fourth 
sentence in the introduction of the latter is the following: 
'' Our liberties will have passed away forever, when the 
return of this season shall be forgotten by the pious 
patriot, as well as by the more worldly politician." 
And the editorial of the Recorder says, "The Fourth 
of July is a day that brightens the pages of our history; 
and as such, it will ever be held sacred in the memory 
of every American patriot, as the day that proclaimed 
our Nation freey Fourth of Julj^ celebrations were 
customary observances, when large gatherings would 



214 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

meet at barbecues, and patriotic speeches would be de- 
livered. In this connection, and while reviewing the 
national feelings of the citizens of this region, many 
surely will be pleased to read here an extract from a 
poem, called "The Day of Freedom," pronounced by 
Judge Meek, July 4th isSS. 

" There is 
Another lesson we tliis day shoukl learn; — 
To Jove alike all port ions of our hind. 

The human heart is fall of selfishness! 

Those whom it knew in youth it loves the "best. 

The spot where first it saw the morning sun 

Lift o'er the eastern trees, is dearest aye. 

The scenes around its residence become 

A part of its existence, and it deems 

The fragrant air above the neighboring hills, — 

The gurgling streamlet in the sylvan vale, — 

Tiie green-rimmed lake — the sweet sky overhead — 

The whispering trees — are kindred with its veins! 

And this is right ! — But we should never let 
Contracted selfishness, our feelings, sway. 
The wind should give its pinions to the heart, 
And teach its gushing sympathies to spread 
O 'er all the land, — from farthest Maine to where. 
Above a lately ransomed realm, the Star 
Of a j'oung empire glistens in the South ! 

Though broad and almost boundless is our land, — 

Yet, o 'er it all, can the reflecting mind 

Associations meet, to make it love 

Alike each part. One common cause is ours! — 

The glorious cause of Human Liberty! — 

The same remembrances and grtititude. 

One common hope, — one undivided love! — 

The same sweet tongue our mutual fatliers spoke, — 

Its graceful literature, its rising lores! — 

The same blood leaping through our veins, — and, oh, — 

Emblem of this and more than this, — one love, — 

One common worsliip for this festal day! 



CLARKE COUNTY. 215 

What though each Star that on our baiuier sliines, 

Moves in its orbit with a sovereign sway, — 

With Uiws, with institutions of its own, — 

Yet 'round one common centre all converge, 

And each, upon its golden patiiway, wheels 

With sympathetic harmony and force. 

And equipoise sublime. Strike but one orb 

From its appointed place, or rudely dim 

Its purity and light, and soon the whole 

Great frame-work of the sky, would madly whirl 

In dire confusion and disaster vast, 

A wreck to nudce even Heaven's high angels grieve! 

Stars of the East! New England's Pleiades! 
Shine on — in light unshadowed shine! 
And guide new Pilgrims to your Rock of Faith — 
Your war-crowned hills, and rich historic plains. 
Where Freedom's feet first trod the tyrant down, 
And left their imi)rints, never more to fade ! 
And oh, ye planets of the roseate West! 
Bright-eyed as Vesper with her lamp of love! — 
Or radiant Mercury, or red-browed Mars ; — 
Gild your vast plains with fertilizing rays. 
Till new-born empires start to civic life 
Where late the sandalled chief or bison trod 
O 'er pi'airied deserts, or by endless streams ! 

Even now, brave hearts, bj' high heroic deeds. 

Have won your welcome, in the throng of States, 

The golden Galaxy by freemen framed! 

And oh, may heaven, from each attuning sphere. 

Long breathe the music of congenial faith. 

Of Union, fellowship, and kindred love. 

For, States fraternal, ye are all but One! 

Each purpled page that tells your warrior deeds. 

Each name sublime, that glows among your gems. 

Each work of Art that wealth and beauty brings. 

Each burning song by native minstrel sung. 

All, all belong to fair Columbia's fame — 

Are treasured trophies of her blended power, — 

The gemmed regalia of her kingless realm! 

And whilst we love, each one his native spot, 



216 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

As best and brightest ol' all jiarts of earth, 
Still should the heart, with patriotic glow, 
Cling to all sections of this glorious Land." 

E.ev. Joseph Talbert, wrote, it is said, a poem for 
tlie celebration at Suggsville, July 4, 1840, consisting 
of eighteen stanzas, eight lines in each, on the night 
before the celebration. It is further stated that some 
"waggish young men" resolved themselves into a 
committee and requested him to prepare a poem for the 
occasion, expecting to have some merriment out of his 
rather j^eculiar poetry. When the poem was called 
for, that it might be read, he proposed, to deliver it 
himself, which he accordingly did, gaining a complete 
triumpli over the self constituted committee of young 
wags who retired from that field "covered with con- 
fusion." "It is said that no audience in Alabama was 
ever so completely spellbound, or listened with such 
attention." Nearly one thousand people, it is said, 
were present, " and there was not a stir or rustle during 
the entire time of the recitation." At the close " sucli 
thunders of applause never before or since shook the 
hills of old Clarke" as then greeted the uncultured 
poet of the count3\ 

This poem began : 

" The d'dj of Independence 
Will never be forgot; 
We hold it in remembrance, 
In word, in deed, and thought. 
It is the greatest blessing 

To all Americans. 
They have a theme so pleasing. 
Throughout their sacred realms." 

Tlie following is the fifth stanza. 

" Let all the Whigs and Democrats, 
Throughout Columbia's land. 



CLARKE COUNTY. 217 

Embrace the best of Politics 
And let the Union staml. 
Xo need for disputation 
If false designs would cease, 
Be honest in contention, 
And strive to 1)e in peace." 

Anotlier stanza, referriiiii: to tlie English and Amer- 
ican emblems, is the following : 

"Tlie lion with the mastiff's, 
The wilderness did rove; 
The eagle winged its feathers — . 
Enjoyed the shady grove. 
The lion treads the forest, 
And often roars and prowls, 
The eagle soars the highest. 
But is never heard to growl." 

The entire poem is patriotic and shows that the 
writer was versed in the Revolutionary history. 

The stanzas quoted will give some idea of the struct- 
ure of this "historic poem," and if the whole is not 
as polished as the poein delivered by Judge Meek, it 
was surely written on much shorter notice and breathes 
the same spirit of patriotism. To this Clarke county 
poet we should give his due meed of praise. 

Leaving now the pleasant gatherings and delightful 
observances of those sunny days, we return to the 
growing village of Grove Hill. 

If not during all these ten years, at least during the 
later ones, it bore the two names of Macon and Grove 
Hill, but when the latter was first given cannot now be 
readily ascertained. Gradually it lost the name of 
Macon, and by 1850 the present name was quite well 
established. 

In 184T the lawyers were, T. Edwin Taylor and J. 
S. Dickinson ; Dr. T. B. Savage was the village phy- 



21S CLAKKE AND ITS SUEROUJSTDINGS. 

sician ; and W. J. Cliainpion was a " fashionable tailor." 
In tins year also James L. Williams came from Ken- 
tucky and commenced business as a merchant. In 
1848 Dr. J. B. McLendon commenced practice in 
Grove Plill, and Hernstadt eV: Company commenced 
business as merchants. 

About this time, probably in this year, the general 
musters, for so many years an interesting feature in 
civil and social life, ceased to be held. Connected 
with these gatherings were doubtless some things, exces- 
sive drinking and some other practices, which were 
undesirable in a community ; yet they were veiy at- 
tractive for the young men and boys, and it was a 
great day for a boy when he was allowed for the first 
time to attend a muster. The ladies and girls remained 
at home on those days and received company. 

In 1849 the organizations known as divisions of the 
Sons of Temperance were established in this county. 
The first was organized in Grove Hill, so far as the 
files of papers show, and was called Grove Division, 
Number 231, of the Sons of Temperance of the State 
of Alabama. The constitution was published in June. 
The By Laws of Suggsville Division were published in 
July. In N^ovember of this year there were six of these 
organizations in the county. Some of the most active 
Christian men and some of the best citizens became 
members of these divisions, and much interest was 
awakened in the temperance cause. Public meetings 
were held, speeches were made, considerable opposi- 
tion in some directions was manifested ; temperance 
processions marched through the villages, the regalia 
of this order was often seen in public ; and instead of 
the militia enrollments and musters of the past, men 



CLARKE COUNTY. 219 

were enlisting in tlie great temperance army and forces 
were gathering to do battle against the many evils, 
which drunkenness in all its forms was bringing upon 
the United States. Although these eiforts did not 
remov^e excessive drinking from these borders ; they 
were probably the means of leading Christian men, in 
their churches, associations, and conferences, to speak 
more freely concerning strong drink and to advocate 
more earnestly the principle which the various secret 
temperance orders, so called, avowed. An advance in 
the temperance sentiment which characterizes America 
has from the date of the organization of those divisions 
been going forward. (At present the Good Templars, 
as an order, are carrying on this work in Grove Hill 
and in the county. 1877.) 

Returning again to the year 18i7, before the militia 
laws were changed and musters ceased, Robert B. 
Patterson and Gideon B. Masse}'^ were, in this year, 
candidates for the ofhce of " Brigadier General of the 
22d Brigade, 4th Division of Alabama Militia" to fill 
the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Brigadier 
General Joseph P. Portis. It is assumed here, from 
the fact that musters were discontinued, that a change 
was soon made in the militia laws of the state. The 
people scarcely expected to be required to learn war 
any more. 

As another indication of growth, and also of 
change, land was now beginning to change hands. 
The following is from the Southern Recorder of 1847, 
and presents more than one interesting feature. 

EXTENSIVE LAND SALE. 

*'7000 acres of unimproved LA!ND for sale in par- 
cels to suit purchasers at low rates. 



220 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

4000 acres situated near the junction of the Ala- 
bama and Bigbj rivers,' above the cut off. This Land 
is of the best character of soil and in the vicinity of 
large plantations. It is well timbered with Oak, Ash 
and Cypress of the largest growth, and convenient to 
either river. 

1400 acres situated near Wood's Bluif on the Bigby 
river, which is good Cotton Land and abounds with 
timber of the best quality. It also possesses many 
other desirable advantages. 

1600 acres on Bashi Creek near the Choctaw* cor- 
ner ; principally upland of superior quality of soil ; 
produces Cotton equal to the River Lands and in a 
healthy region of the country. 

Titles to said lands will be made to persons desiring 
to purchase, by 

R. D. Gayle, Agent, Macon, 

Clarke county, Ala." 

In these large traxits of unimproved land there was 
an abundance of some varieties of game ; but the last 
bear killed in the central parts of the county, so far 
as known, was in the month of June, 1848, in Bassetts 
Creek swamp, six miles only north-east from Grove 
Llill. This was quite a large black bear, weighing 
between three and four hundred pounds. 

Some migrations and some emigrations were taking 
place, but the population was increasing in the county. 
New " deadenings " were made, new lands were 
opened, more working hands were obtained. At the 
election in 1849 eight hundred and twenty-six votes 
were cast for the two congressional candidates. There 
were at this time twelve precincts for voting. The 
candidates this year were, for representative, Lorenzo 

*I had supposed that I had fairly originated the expression "the Choctaw 
corner," meaning b}' it the corner post; and here I tind it used by R. D. Gayle in 
1847. T. H. B. 



CLARKE COUNTY. 221 

James, E, S. Thornton aiul Xeal Smith ; for circuit 
clerk, Isham Kimbell, Joliii W. Densoii, and Zencj S. 
Parker ; for tax collector, John Bonier and S. M. 
Finch. The other county officers were not elected this 
year. 

In December D. Daffin, who had been connected as 
publisher or ]n-inter with the Recorder during most of 
the year, purchasing that office, started a new paper. 
The Grove Hill Herald. Early in the year 1850 
James T. Figures became joint editor and proprietor, 
and the Herald became a popular and successful jour- 
nal. In its issue of March 13tli appeared the follow- 
ing editorial, probably written by J. T. Figures. 
The heading is "Clarke County." "It is a matter of 
rejoicing to the citizens of this old County, that her 
resources are beginning to be seen, and are attracting 
the attention of men of capital, in other and more 
wealthy counties, some of whom are moving into it 
every year, bringing their money and negroes with 
them. Some of them go to planting, some to making 
Turpentine, and some to getting timber. The lands 
produce cotton and corn, in abundance, and sugar cane 
has been tried, which grows finely, and as good sugar 
can be made here as in Louisiana ; and we hope it 
will not be long before mills are erected for the pur- 
pose. The large, almost endless pine forests, which 
so long remained valueless, except for fire and cord 
wood, house-logs and other building purposes, are 
yeilding raw turpentine in large quantities, and hun- 
dreds of barrels are exported yearl}-. This is not all 
the use "of these forests ; they furnish the best of 
timber, for almost every purpose ; and a great many 
are engaged in getting it for market, which yields a 



222 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

handsome proHt. It is not in the Mobile market alone 
that this timber finds sale, but in New Orleans, Cin- 
cinnati, and the Eastern ports ; some of it is shipped 
to France, and even California comes in for a share." 

"The last Legislature passed an Act which will 
bring a body of land into market, lying in Clarke 
county, which has lain idle for years, and which is 
very valuable ; it is called the Cedar Reserve, lying 
below Gosport, on the Alabama river." 

The most prosperous period in the growth of this 
county was now near at hand. In Grove Hill in 1850 
were, among the principal house holders the following : 
to some of whom the certain date, and to others the 
probable date, of the beginning of their residence is 
annexed. 

Judge Terrcl Powers 1830 

Colonel James Savage 1834 

Colonel George D. Alegginson 1834 

Charles E. Woodard 1844 

James S. Dickinson 1846 

James L. Williams 184T 

Thomas Hearin 

W. L. Beckham 

H. W. Burge 1844 

Judge H. W. Coate 1847 

Hazen Preston 1844 

Rufus H. Kilpatrick 1846 

S. S. Brittingham 1836 

R. H. Hernstadt 1848 

Hernstadt and Hieman were German Jews, and 
quite particular and devout in their religious observ- 
ances. By some unfortunate combination of circum- 
stances Hieman was killed at Grove Hill, and in 1850 



CLARKE COUNTY. 223 

lleriistadt advertised their large stock of goods for 
sale at cost, preferring to I'emove to California. 

The white population of the county was now forty- 
nine hundred ; the large planters were busily engaged 
in the production of cotton, quite an amount of corn 
was also raised ; the villages were growing, schools 
and churches were prosperous ; and the first half of 
the nineteenth centurj' was closing on a peaceful, 
thriving portion of the land. 

RECORD OF DEATHS BETWEEN 1840 AND 1850.* 

For this record the author is indebted to the cour- 
tesy of Miss Annie Ezell, and to the diary of her 
father, M. Ezell. 

Died in 1843, Joseph Talbert, John B. Creagh, 
Mrs. Dr. Wilson, Rev. D. McDonald, John Spinks, 
and Isaac fl. Erwin. I. H. Erwin was a lawyer, a 
nephew of Henry Clay of Kentucky, who had married 
a sister of Lorenzo James. Mrs. Erwin, after her 
husband's death went to Tennessee and married a very 
wealthy man in that state. 

Died in 1844, Aug. 27th Norphlet Davis, Sept. 4th 
Father Wilson, aged eighty-four; Sept. 17th Mrs. 
Wilson, aged eighty. 

Died in 1846, Rev. C. Pritchett, G. W. Megginson, 
and James Dubose. 

Died in 1847, Mrs. Hay den, December, Mrs. Mary 
James, mother of Lorenzo James. 

Died in 1848, G. W. Campbell, Mrs. Winney Cal- 
ler, eighty years of age, Mrs. Margaret Fleming, 

* For files of the Southern Recorder and of the Grove Hill Herald, which have 
been very serviceable in furnishing some facts for this chapter, I am indebted to 
my highly valued friend the Hon. James S. Dickinson. T. H. B. 



224 CLARKE AISD ITS SUllROUNDINGS. 

eighty-five years of age, Col. G. W. Creagh, and S. T. 
Barnes, 

Died in 1849, Mrs. R. Hearin. 

Died in 1850, David Camniack. 

Samuel T. Barnes died at his residence near Snggs- 
ville, December 14th 1848, being nearly fifty-four 
years of age. He was born in I^ortli Carolina, and 
was among the earlier settlers in the county. In a 
notice of his death, which occurred after many years 
of suff'ering from a lingering disease, he is described as 
having possessed " unbending integrity and strict fidel- 
ity, candor and generosity;" as having been "warm in 
his attachments and charitable in his feelings ;" and as 
"possessing a mind naturally contemplative and a 
heart eminently social." 

TEACHERS AND STUDENTS OF THE MACON ACADEMY IN 

1849. 

(There are some who will take a real interest in 
looking over this list of names. Others can omit this, 
and go on to the next chapter.) 

" Rufus PI. Kilpatrick, A. M. Principal, and Instruc- 
tor in the Ancient Languages." Other teachers : Mrs. 
]Sr. A. Kilpatrick, Miss Jane M. Young, Samuel W. 
Beckham, and Rufus H. Kilpatrick, Jr. 

"Pupils in Male Department." Alfred A. Alston, 
Thomas B. Alston, W. A. Beckham, S. W. Beckham, 
Simeon Beckham, Thomas Boroughs, Wm. M. Bor- 
oughs, D. Milton Cato, Louis Cato, James E. Cox, C. 
Columbus Curtis, Henry Gr. Davis, Norphlet M. Davis, 
Alonzo H. Edaker, Wm. S. Forwood, Benjamin S. 
Forwood, Benjamin C. Foster, Tliomas J. Hearin, 
James R. Johnston, Rufus H. Kilpatrick, Jolin Y. 



CLARKE COUNTY. 225 

Kilpatrick, Win. Kilpati'ick, G. D. McCoimell, Alex. 
McFarland, Jackson McFarland, Alfred P. Martin, 
Eliphalet M. Massey, A. J. .AEegginson, J. A. Meggin- 
son, J. L. Megginson, D. A. Megginson, E. T. Meg- 
ginson, John T. I^egus, Joel Bell Patterson, James D. 
Pogue, Levi S. Pogue, Joseph I. Portis, Samuel Powe, 
William Powe, T. E. Powell, James M. Powell, Joseph 
Powers, Jesse P. Pngh, Stephen Pugh, James Piigh, 
Meredith E. Pngh, Pinkney Y. Pugh^ Rial N. Pugh, 
James A. J. Saunders, James C Savage, Setli Parker 
Taylor, II. M. Woodard, R. J. Woodard, S. T. Wood- 
ard, F. W. Woodard, Thomas J. Williams. 

''Pupils in Female Department." Martha A. Agee, 
E'.nma H. Alston, C. M. Beckham, M. J. Beckham, R. 
C. Beckham, Marcy Beckham, Martha J. Boroughs, 
Rebecca L. Boroughs, Josephine Carleton, Jane E. 
Davidson, Ellen Dubose, Ann Amelia Dubose, Eliza- 
beth Edaker, Isabella Edaker, S. Caroline Foster, 
Mary M. Hearin, Holder Hieman, Tena Hieman, 
Margaret Kilpatrick, Eliza J. Kilpatrick, Caroline A. 
Kimbell, R. Carney Kimbell, Susan L. Lawson, Francis 
E. McCaskey, M. J. Mathews, J. M. Megginson, 
Elisabeth E. Moss, Chaste H. Noble, Catharine J. 
Xoble, Frances H. Pace, Sarah J. Parker, Sarah W. 
Patterson, Martha D. Patterson, Eliza Philon, Caroline 
A. Pogue, Eliza J. Pogue, Mary E. Portis, Jane M. 
Powers, Sarah P. Powers, Melissa Pugh, Martha E. 
Savage, Mary E. Savage, Alice A. Savage, Nancy J. 
Slater, Mary C. Yaughn, Sarah J. Yaughn, Susan C. 
Yaughn, Emma C. Yaughn, M. J. Yaughn, Sarah J. 
Webb, Rebecca A. AYoodard, Josephine E. Williams. 
15 



CHAPTER X. 

CLARKE COUNTY, 1850-1860. 

THE Indian troubles liave ended. The Clioctaws 
and the Chickasaws, the Creeks or Muscogees 
and even the Florida Seminoles have gone beyond the 
Mississippi. The Mexicans are also quiet. From the 
British nation no danger of another war seems likely 
to arise. The stars and stripes, the emblem of the 
power of a great republic, are respected over all the 
world, on every sea. And so, as the last half of the 
ninteenth century opens, in this year ot 1851, Clarke 
county, like the rest of this great countrj^ seems to 
have a career of large prosperity opened full before it. 
And the ten years upon the history, events, and records 
of which now we enter, are years of peace and plenty, 
of joyous home life and home love, of regularly de- 
veloping resources and of rapid increase in population. 
Suggsville, still a centre ot wealth, refinement, and 
culture, shares now with Grove Hill, the county seat, 
in influences that mold opinions and that build up the 
higher interests of communities. The establishment of 
a well conducted paper, containing vigorously written 
editorials, and having quite a large circulation, aided in 
making Grove Hill more thoroughly the intellectual 
center of the county; and so long as D. Daffin and J. 
T. Figures conducted the Herald, its influence as a 
political and news periodical seemed to continually in- 
crease. 

In 1851 Edward A. Scott took charge of the Franklin 



CLARKE COUNTY. 227 

Academy at Suggsville, and T. H. Ball and his sister 
Miss E. II. Ball, of the iMale and Female Academy at 
Grove Hill. At the latter school the choice selection 
of philosophical and chemical apparatus formerly men- 
tioned was now for the first time brought into use, 
having arrived in the summer from Boston. 

Miss Virginia Yarrington, of Marion, Alabama, soon 
became the teacher of music. She was fair and delicate, 
but far too frail for much endurance. She was more in- 
disposed than usual, and her father and mother came 
to see her. The other teachers left her at their board- 
ing house in the morning, in her parents' care, and in 
a few hours a message came to the academy that the 
teacher of music was dead. The sad tidings came 
entirely unexpectedly to all. It was probably the only 
sudden death that ever took place at Grove Hill, ex- 
cept a death by violence. Her remains were conveyed to 
the town of Marion for burial. Her place as teacher 
was at length filled by Miss Laura S. Walker, who after- 
wards became Mi s. Dewes. 

The following hymns, written by the Principal of 
the Academy for use at the morning devotions, were 
often sung by many voices that are silent now, as at that 
hour of worship all the teachers and pupils met for a 
few moments together. 

A Morning Sonc;. S. M. 

Our Father, look thou down, 

In mercy from above ; 

And grant thj- Holy Spirit's power, 

To fill our hearts with love. 

We thanlv thee ibr the light. 
For life, and strength, and health; 
We own thy sovereign power bestows, 
Hank, honor, beauty, wealth. 



228 CLARKE ATs^D ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Wo ask thee not for these; 
IJut help us through the day, 
Wisdom's ricli stores to treasure up, 
Aud teach us how to pray. 

And while our morn of life 
Is free from sorrow's sigh, 
Prepare our hearts by grace divine, 
To dwell with thee on high. 

Pkaise to God. 7s. 

We, thy creatures here on earth. 
Prone to folly from our birth, 
We would ofier praise to thee, 
Lord of Heaven, Earth, and Sea. 

Glorious and great art thou ; 

'Neath thy power the mightiest bow; 

Cherubim and Seraphim, 

In thy dazzling light are dim. 

What are we! earth's children weak! 
Let us now thy blessing seek ; 
Shield us oh thou King of kings, 
Bear thou us on eagle's wings. 

310RXING Devotion. C. M. 

Help us to praise and honor thee, 
Holy and blessed One; 
Teach us the path of purity, 
Teach us to love thy Son. 

Maj- we not bow to idols vain ; 

Let not our spirits cling, 

With earth's affections' uncurbed rein. 

To a forbidden thing. 

Into temptation lead us not ; 

Our God and Father be ; 

Wash from our souls each sinful blot, 

Fit us to dwell with thee! 



CLAKKE COUNTY. 229 

A Morning Hymn. lis. 

Alraightj', all Iiolj-, and mercilul One, 
A Shield to the righteous, a Guardian, and Sun, 
Have mercy upon us and lead us aright; 
Protect us and bless us with heavenly liglit. 

Our proud and our stubborn hearts wilt thou subdue. 
Forgive us and cleanse us, create us anew. 
With truth and with virtue our spirits adorn. 
And fit for earth's duties in life's rosy morn. 

We thank thee, our Father, that still we are blest, 
That sorrow and anguish disturb not our rest; 
But life, now so joyous, has dark hours in store, 
Then grant us thy blessing, we ask for no more. 

In Mcaj, 1852, a Sabbath school celebration was 
held at Grove Hill, and another ii^ May, 1853. 

These both were quite interesting occasions. 

The following, for 1852, will be of interest for 
many citizens of Clarke. 

ELECTION NOTICE. • 

A'N Election will be held at the different precincts 
in Clarke county, on TUESDAY, the 2nd day of Nov- 
ember, 1852, for the purpose of electing Electors for 
President and Yice President of the United States. 

Jackson. 

Managei's. Return <j Officers. 

Jno. M. Chapman, i 

Walter Taylor, '- Seth P. Stringer. 

Peter Dubose. ) 

Jamks' Distillery. 

James M. Jackson, ) 

Budd C. Parten, - Joseph F. Vick. 

Henry Whitaker. ) 



280 CLARKE AND ITS SURKOUNDINGS. 

SUGGSVILLE. 

Samuel Coale, ) 

Jas. F. Nuiialee, ,- F. A. Dawson. 

Robert Broadnax. ) 

GOSPORT. 

Samuel Forwood, ) 

Sugar K. Davis, - John Harris. 

William J. Hearin. \ 

McDuffee's Gin. 

D. C. McCaskej, ) 

Wm. H. Peebles, - Arthur Davis. 

David Pine. ) 

Gates'. 

William Gates, 1 

William J. Plurlock ■- John R. Robertson. 

Willis B. Hicks. \ 

Choctaw Coener. 

Lycurgus Pool, ) 

Reddin Hearon, ^- Joseph Vinson. 

William Danzj. ) 

Tallahatta Springs. 

Benj. C. Foster, ) 

Wil'liam B. Pugh, '- J. M. Bouler. 

Docton Webb. ) 

Campbell's. 

A. Campbell, ] 

S. P. Davidson, V Joseph McNider. 

James Mclntyre. ) 

Coffeeville. 

Wm. L. Scruggs, i 

H. R. Williams, '- Wiley Easters. 

John A. C. Keel. ) 



CLARKE COUNTY. 231 



Abner Wilox's old place. 

Robert Bumpers, ) 

James W. Lide, - William Dorman. 

Wesley Robinson, i 

Grove Hill. 

G. D. Megginson, ) 

Elijah Pugli, - Burge. 

John Chapman. ) 

H. AV. BURGE, Sheriff. 
September 29, 1852. 

Also the followinor record for 1853. 



public meeting. 

The citizens of Clarke County, Ala., met at Suggs- 
ville, pursuant to previous pub'ic notice, on Saturday, 
the 12th inst., for the purpose of taking into considera- 
tion the propriety and feasibility of erecting a Cotton 
and Woolen Factory at some suitable point in the 
county. On motion of Judge Wm. R. Hamilton, the 
meeting was organized by the election of Col. R. D. 
James, to the Chair, and A. M. Callier was requested 
to act as Secretary. 

The object of the meeting was explained by the 
Chair in a plain and practical manner. The impor- 
tance and feasibility as well as the profit that would 
accrue to those engaged in the enterprise were forcibly 
set forth in two very spirited and patriotic addresses 
from John AV. Portis, Esq., and Hon. Wm. R. Ham- 
ilton. 

A motion was made, and unanimously carried, that 
a committee of seven be appointed by the Chair to de- 
termine upon the most suitable plan of carrying out 
this laudable enterprise ; which committee consisted of 
the following named gentlemen: Col. Robert Broad- 
nax, Hon. William R. Hamilton, S. R. Davis, S. 
Nordlinger, W. Jackson, R. Rivers, Sr.. and S. W. 



23.2 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Portis ; wliicli committee, having retired, after due de- 
liberation, returned with the followino; report : 

1st. Kesolved. That it is expedient, and when 
erected, shall go by steam. 

2d. Resolved, That those desiring to engage in the 
enterprise shall form themselves into a Stock Company 
to be called the Clarke County Manufacturing Com- 
pany, for the purpose of erecting a Cotton and AVoolen 
Factory at Suggsville, or such other point in the County 
as may be agreed upon hereafter. 

3d. Resolved, That we will issue stock in shares of 
fifty dollars per share, and so soon as fifteen thousand 
dollars worth of stock shall have been subscribed, the 
Stockholders shall proceed to elect a Board of Direct- 
ors, whose duty it shall be to locate said Factory, con- 
tract for the necessary building, procure machinery, 
superintend the business generally, and call upon the 
Stockholders at stated times for payment of per centage 
upon their stock to pay for the necessarj" expenditures, 
&c., which report was unanimously adopted. 

4th. Resolved, That a copy of these proceedings be 
forwarded to the Grove Hill Herald and The South- 
erner for publication. 

R. D. JAMES, Chairman. 

A. M. Callier, Secretary. 

Churches and academies had now been for many 
years prospering. There was no lack of ministers, as 
in Spanish times, to perform the marriage ceremony ; 
and since the establishment of the first academy at St. 
Stephens, the daughters of the planters had opportuni- 
ties for training their intellects, as well as abundant 
facilities for adorning their persons ; but for a system- 
atic study of the Scriptures, according to the rapidly 
growing idea of the Anglo-Saxon form of Sabbath 
schools, until about this time little seems to have been 
done, except at Suggsville or in that neighborhood. 
There, some Sunday-school instruction was given as 



CLAIIKE COUNTY. 



0?>'' 



early as 1825. Evidence of the existence of other 
schools till about 1850 is not to be easily found. With 
the progress of other interests, masonic lodges having 
been for some time in existence, the temperance orders 
continued to advance. The Cadets of Temperance had 
a flourishing section at Grove Hill, which is supposed 
to have outlived all other sections in the state ; and a 
large temperance barbecue was held at Grove Hill in 
July, 1853, The following is a part of the notice of 
invitation. "The public generally, all Sons of Tem- 
perance, Matrons and Maidens of Temperance, and 
Cadets, are respectfull}^ invited to attend. 

The members of all Temperance Associations will 
please appear in theii- appropriate Regalias." 

Addresses were delivered "by several distinguished 
members of tlie Order.'' 

In the fall of this year Grove Hill was visited b}^ 
that scourge of the tropics, yellow fever. Usually con- 
fined in its ravages to the large cities, and especialh^to 
New Orleans and Mobile, it visited in this fatal year 
many small towns away from the seaboard. It com- 
menced at Grove Hill in September, with a young 
lady, a daughter of Judge Powers, who came up from 
Mobile, bringing the disease with her. At first it was 
not supposed to be contagious, nor to be truly the yel- 
low fever of the large cities. But when one after an- 
other fell rapidly before it all doubt was soon at an 
end, and those who knew of its terrors only by report 
now nerved themselves up to heroic efforts in behalf of 
fellow suff'erers. Says one who passed through these 
fearful scenes, to fall a few years later by consumption, 
I). Daftin, the surviving editor of the Herald, "we can 
assure those who have never witnessed the ravages of 



234 OLAKKK A^■D ITS SI RKOUNDINQS. 

Yellow Fovor. that it roquires something more than 
onlinavv hearts and nerves to render efficient services 
during all its stages, and after death.'" 

All business ceased. There was nothing to be done 
but attend to the sick, the dying, and the dead. At 
length every individual remaining left the place, a 
camp having been made by some springs a short dist- 
ance away from the town. The mail carrier avoided 
the precincts oi' the place. A tierce dog belonging to 
James S. Dickinson, a dangerous aniuuil when un- 
chained, by night or day, and M-hich had been left at 
home, ]">robably from the necessity of the case, became 
so subdued by the utter loneliness of his situation, per- 
haps partly by hunger, that he gladly welcomed the 
first human beings that revisited the town. Frost tin- 
ally came, the beautiful, wistfully looked-for, snowy 
white frost ; falling as Bi-yant says, "from the clear 
cold heaven ;" the frost that stays the ravages of this 
''plague" in the South; and the survivors of the 
camp returned to their lonely homes. 

When the nature of the disease was ascertained the 
citizens in the surrounding neighborlioods felt that it 
would be unsafe to come in contact with this epidemic. 
The town inhabitants were therefore left, so far as 
direct care and nursing were concerned, to provide 
altogether for themselves ; and nobly did those who sur- 
vived discharge the duties of huninanity towards the 
dying and the dead. A few extracts are here given from 
a Herald editorial soon after village life was resumed. 

'•We have witnessed disease and sutiering as its 
consequence before, but never have we witnessed it to 
such an extent as this has proved here, and we sincerely 
and fervently pray that we never will again. AYe had 



CLAI!KK COf.N'JY. 235 

friends tried and true who have paid the last debt on 
earth ; tliey have relinquished all claims in this 
troublesome, and departed we trust to a better and 
brighter world. The last whispering accent of friend- 
shijj has been heard, and it only remains for us to 
cherish their memory and weep over their tombs." 

" We must not omit returning our sincere thanks to 
many kind and truly benevolent friends in the vicinity, 
who have done all for us that was possible for any peo- 
ple to do, except to come among and assist us in nurs- 
ing. They have furnished us with everything that 
could tend to our welfare, free of charge. The Messrs. 
Chapmarts and Pughs are especially entitled to the 
gratitude of the citizens of the village ; in fact all, we 
believe, manifested a disposition to render us all the 
assistance in their power — except, as before stated, to 
come and serve the part of nurses.'" 

The last, it quite evidently was not very prudent for 
them to do. 

In reference to this visitation the Selma Sentinel 
contained the following: "The people of and in the 
vicinity of Grove Ilill, Clarke county, have suffered 
severely from the epidemic that has been prevailing in 
all sections of our country for the last two months. 
Wliy anything like an epidemic, sucli as is the yellow 
fever, should prevail in a place like Grove Hill, is a 
mystery that we should like to hear explained. It is 
situated in a high and otherwise healthy region, sur- 
rounded by pine lands, and nothing whatever of a local 
nature calculated to produce disease. This fact of 
itself almost leads us to believe that the disease that 
has been prevailing this summer is contagious."* 

• If any doubts remained in the minds of obuerverg concerning the contagioas- 
neps of yellow fever, the experiences of 1878 would seem nufflcir-nt to dispel them. 



.* 



236 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 



Great changes were produced in the business and 
social life of Grove Hill hj the nian_y deaths that took 
place. Some of the lovely ones v^^ere gone, and some 
of the most prominent citizens. The names of these 
will be fonnd elsewhere, in otlier connections ; but here 
probably may most fittingly be recorded the name of 
one who fell at his post in this fatal summer of 1853. 

James T. Figures, one of the editors of the Grove 
Hill Herald, was born at Coffeeville in 1824. When 
about ten years of age he began to learn the art of 
printing in the office of the Huntsville Advocate. 
About 1845 he went to Lebanon, Tennessee, and was 
connected with a religious paper called the " Banner of 
Peace." In February, 1850, he returned to Clarke 
county and became one of the editors and proprietors 
of the Grove Hill Herald. He was an excellent printer, 
and a vigorous, energetic editor. For almost four years 
he discharged his editorial duties in a manner which 
gained for him many friends and which advanced the 
interests of his paper. In his domestic relations he 
had been unfortunate; and some events in his religious 
life in Tennessee had aided in giving a peculiar turn to 
his religious views. One who knew him well says : 

" In this community the death of no man would call 
forth more bitter regrets, for he was held in high esteeni 
by all who fell in the genial spliere of his acquaintance. 
Ever generous, affable, kind, and unassuming, he won 
the esteeni and respect of all where he was known. 

When it was announced that an epidemic was in our 
midst, his friends and relatives warned him of his 
danger, and earnestly entreated him to flee from the 
village ; but with a lofty sense of honor and propriety, 
prompted by his consciousness of duty, he announced 



CLAllKE c;OlJNTY. 1^37 

]iis (letennination to abide the destiny whi^ii God's 
providence seemed to have assigned him. Day and 
niglit, and during all stages of the dread pestilence, he 
])nt forth all his energies to minister to the wants of 
the sick, — to relieve suffering humanit}' appeared to be 
his only desire. He engaged in the work of nursing 
with a cheerfulness and earnestness that would do 
honor to Christian Charity. He appeared especially 
prepared for the work before him. * - * Most 
iiobly and willingly he discharged his duty, until pros- 
trated by disease; and here we may add, tliat if human 
will, or medical skill could have availed auglit, our 
friend would still have lived to receive the rewards so 
justly merited and so. dearly won." 

He was not quite thirty 3-ears of age, and had not 
reached the meridian of life nor of intellectual power. 
And here, amitl the desolations of that one and that 
only terrible visitation of yellow fever at Grove Hill, 
in the autumn of 1853, which removed from the busy 
activities and joys of life Colonel Savage and his wife 
and two lovely daughters, C. E. Woodard and his 
oldest son Mason, James L. Williams, and William S. 
Powell a very talented young lawyer, besides many 
others, —here, as its most fitting place, stands the 
monumental record of one of the gifted and promising 
young editors of Clarke, James T. Figures. He, with 
them, found then and there the " time to diey 

Here also there must be recorded a name, the name 
of a self-denying, resolute woman, who was a most 
devoted and efficient nurse in the family of Colonel 
Savage and with other sufferers, Mrs. Caroline 
Bkttis Ckaxford. She might easily have gone to her 
mother's home, only about four miles distant, but she 



238 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

chose t# stay by tlie sick and to care for the dj-ing. 
Woman amid such scenes becomes like a ministering 
angel indeed ; and nobly did Mrs. Cranford, repre- 
senting an old and wealthy family of Clarke, devote 
her time and energies to relieve, if possible, suffering 
humanity. She at length became sick herself but re- 
covered and removed with her husband into Missis- 
sippi. Her name at Grove Hill deserves to be grate- 
fully remembered. 

When late in the fall business revived, heavier 
responsibilities came upon some who were young ; and 
it was found in regard to some families, that no efforts 
of survivors could place their business affairs back into 
the former prosperous and successful channels. Yet, 
as months passed, and the natural changes took place, 
prosperity again seemed to pervade the Grove Hill 
village homes. 

Choctaw Corner had, at about this time, become the 
most enterprising business village. Carleton and Slade, 
in the spring of 1853, opened a "new and fashionable 
stock of spring goods;" and Lycurgus Poole, also, opened 
at the same place, "a large and well-selected stock of 
spring and summer goods;" both houses receiving 
their goods direct from the city of New York. In the 
fall of the year C. E. Woodard opened at Grove Hill 
quite a large stock of goods, which he had purchased 
in person that summer in New York. After the ravages 
of the fever ceased, his business was carried on by one 
of his sons, E,. J. Woodard. 

At Bashi there was also at this time, in 1S52 and 
1853, a flourishing business house conducted by George 
Carleton. He was a general agent for Clarke county for 
selling "agricultural and other machinery," and for 



CLARKE COUNTY. 239 

transactiiiif; all other business belonging to a general 
agent. 

.lolin W. Figures was at tiie same time, as he had 
been for many past years, carrying on a dry goods' 
store at Cotfeeville. 

There were stores also, as formerly, at Jackson and 
at Suggsville. Stores in country localities were not 
common then as they are becoming now. The planters 
obtained their supplies directly from Mobile, through 
their commission merchants, the larger plantations be- 
ing near one or the other of the two rivers, on which 
^ow steamboats were constantly plying. 

About this time an academy was opened at Choctaw 
Corner, thus making with Suggsville and Grove Hill, 
three principal educational centers. f^ 

In the fall of 1S54 T. H. Ball again took charge of 
the Grove Hill Academy, having been absent a year 
teaching at Rockville, in "the fork;" making his 
home with the families of Colonel Payne ar^l of Major 
Austin. 

Doctors Alston and Gordon were now at the county- 
seat the resident physicians ; James S. Dickinson and 
David H. Portis the resident lawyers. 

The following is a census report of the county for 
1855. 

Whites, : 4,842, 

Slaves, 5, 040, 

Free colored, 12, 

Insane, counted above, 11. 

Total, 10,494. 



240 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

White males over twenty-one years of age, .... 1,112, 

"White females over twenty-one, 1,006; 

White males under twenty-one years of age, . . . 1,395, 

White females under twenty-one, 1,318. 

Total, 4,831. 

The difterence between this last total and the number 
of white citizens given above is accounted for by the 
eleven insane not here enumerated. 

The Clarke County Democrat, Isaac Grant Editor 
and Proprietor, was first issued in January, 1856. 

As an evidence of the present prosperity of the 
county the following list of marriages is given, taken 
from the Democrat, Volume 1, Number 1. 
^ "Hymeneal. 

Married, on the 1st of December 1855, by J. S. 
Coate Esq., Mr. Obadiah Robinson and Miss M. E. 
McCorquodale. 

On the 5th of Dec. 1855, by Rev. K Goodwin, Mr. 
James M. Hearin and Miss Sarah C. Rivers. 

On the 20th of December 1855, by J. C. B. White 
Esq., Mr. Thomas B. Hawkins of Wilcox county, and 
Miss Martha A. Cox. 

On the 20th of Dec, by M. E. King Esq., Mr. 
Joseph A. McElwain and Mrs. Elizabeth Knight. 

On the 20th of Dec, by Hon. H. W. Coate, Mr. W. 
H. F. Waite and Miss Matilda Chapman, 

On the 25th of Dec. by Rev. L. L. Dewitt, Mr. 
James A. Benson and Miss Mary C. Hicks. 

On the 27th Dec by J. C. B. White Esq., Mr. F. 
M. Jones ;and Miss Margaret Toland. 

On the 26th Dec, by Hon. H. W. Coate, Mr. 
William K. Clark and Miss Lucy H. Curtis. 



CLARKE COUNTY. 241 

On the 26th Dec, by Hon. II. W. Coate, Mr. C D 
Hamilton and Miss Candis H. Curtis. 
Tkf ^\l^'.^ ^^'^ December, by James A. Rodgers Esq., 
Mr^W.l ham M. Armstead and Miss Scytha Presnall 

On the 1st of January, 1856, by Eev. J^. Goodwin, 
Mr. James D. Bryant and Miss Jane Smith 

On tlie 3d of Jan. by J. C. B. White Esq., Mr 
Greorge W. Janis and Miss Georgia A. Hudson 

On the 9th of January, by Rev. Mr. Rabb, Mr. John 
Q. A. Lynch and Miss Sarah A. Clark. 

On the 9th of January, by Rev. J. J. Clark, Mr W 
K. Coatney and Miss Marv Jackson 

On the 10th Jan. byV. C. B. White Esq., Mr. 
Daniel Walton and Mrs. Susan Webb 

On the 10th of .Jan. by M. E. King Esq., Mr. Ivv 
Smith and Miss Sarah A. Duneo-an 

Mr^F '\v't"\ '^""' '''' ^'^- ^^'"''-y Stoudenmire, 
Mr. Franklin Steele and Mrs. Eliza Davidson 

On the 10th of Jan. by Cyrus Allen Esq., Mr. 
George W. Chancellor and Miss Mary C. Bur-e 

Wu^ '\' f '^' "^ '^ '""''■ ^y Thos. B. Pace E^q., Mr. 
William S. Scruggs and Miss Eliza A. Deese " ' 

A sad record follows these marriage notices. 

Hazen Preston was a native of New Jersev He 
resided for seventeen years in Alabama and foi- twelve 
years was a resident of Grove Hill. He was a skillful 
meclianic a carpenter and mill-wright. He was a quick 
and good workman and an honest man. He had 
known the evils of strong drink and became a very 
zealous Son of Temperance. In January 1856 he be 
gan to dr.nk again, and in ten days he was dead. He 
died February 8th being fifty-two years of age. He 
had said once in reference to some brother who had 



242 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

fallen, "Whiskey too much!" and it ^^0'-- sadly 
true of himself. Whiskey too much ! Alas ! W hen 
will the ravages of strong drink cease ? Year by year 
the great army of moderate drinkers become, one by 
one, drunkards ; and the drunkards, one by one, go by 
thousands to the grave. There were a few that m these 
years of prosperity and growth used to drmk to exces 
at Grove Hill. Their neighborhood, north and east 
from the town, was known then as Beaver Rum. ihey 
need no further record than this one glance at their 
habits and their homes. Over all this broad and m 
the East, in the West, or in the South, fearful habits 
will make desolate homes. Surely those who would be 
prosperous should not meddle w th strong drmk. _ 

Many a time the author of this work was in the 
Grove Division room with Hazen Preston as an ofticer. 
He admired his earnestness and enthusiasm and he 
may be allowed here to lament that so kind-heai-ted 
and so true a man should die at last by such a foe, 

stronq drin'k. ^ . . ,, ^, 

There is a Scriplure exhortation, " Le him t la 
thinketh be standeth take heed lest he fall ; and i 
may not be amiss to apply it in reference to our habit 
even of drink. There is surely something ^^that 
"biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder. _ 

A few records in regard to material progress for this 
year are: At Suggsville S. Coale is carr^dng on the 
-Eagle Factory," engaged in wagon-making, and m 
repairing carriages and buggies, and in other work. 
At Grove Hill, Burge and Rhodes advertise as w^igon, 
carriage, and buggy makers. At Choctaw Ccn-ner 
Carleton and Warl have a steam mill m operation 
Carleton & Slade and L. Poole continue their large mer- 



CLARKE COUNTY. 243 

cantile operations : and a Fourth of July barbecue is 

given at the Corner. 

Free public schools begin to awaken some attention. 

S. B. Clevelai;d was, in 1857, "Superintendent of Free 

Public Schools." 

O. S. Jewett was this year a lawyer at Gainestown. 

Dr. W. W. Rainey was a physician for Grove Hill. 
Rev. John C. Foster and Miss Stearne had charge 

of the Grove Hill Academy, T. J. Ford and Miss An- 

n^e E. Heath being added to the number of teachers in 

November. 

(The following is copied from a memorial stone, in 

a little enclosure, at the head of a burial mound. 

'^ Sacred to the memory of Annie E. Heath, consort of 

William S. Williams. She was born in Michigan, 
educated in Connecticut, and died at Grove Hill, Ala- 
bama, August 17, 1859, aged twenty-one years. A 
mother's treasure. Xot lost but gone before."' By her 
side her husband's remains also rest, who died Septem- 
ber 7, 1859, aged twenty-seven years. They had been 
married a few short weeks when death came so unex- 
pectedly to both. And thus in the solitude of a burial 
place, as silent as if in the heart of a Michigan forest, 
a burial place but a short distance west of the old 
Grove Hill Academy, in a part of which the remains, 
years ago, of many colored servants were amid solemn 
torch lights laid away to rest, sleeps the mortal part of 
this Michigan girl. Through a few strangely and rap- 
idly changing scenes she passed, and at the early age 
of twenty-one she ended the probation of earth. " The 
remains of one young Grove Hill teacher were borne 
to her early home. Very fittingly sleep these remains 
where now tiiey are, and on a living page as on a mar- 
ble stone may tlic name remain of Annie E. Heath.) 



244 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

In this same year of 1857 R. L. Perkins was Princi- 
pal of the Choctaw Corner Male and Female Academy, 
and Edward A. Scott returned to the Franklin Acade- 
my at Suggsville. Professor W. C. Doub had charge 
of the female department, Professor Louis Mann of 
the musical department, and Mrs. A. E. Mann had 
charge of the literary and ornamental departments for 
the young ladies. 

Railroad interests again engaged the attention of 
the people. The special enterprise now presented to 
to the citizens of the county was called the Uniontown 
and Jackson Railroad. The fc^llowing are records. 

October 1857. 

"At a large and enthusiastic Railroad Barbecue 
Meeting of the citizens of Jackson and of the surround- 
ing country, on the 24th ult., on motion of Isham 
Kimbell Esq., Dr. F. L. Sewall was called to the 
Chair. On motion, A. H. Dubose, Isham Kimbell, 
R. J. Singleton, J. M. Dabney, Peter Dubose, A. 
Smoot, and J. AF. Chapman were appointed Vice 
Presidents, and J. B. Taylor and Isaac Grant Secre- 
taries." 

Speeches on this occasion were made by James S. 
Dickinson of Clarke, S. S. Houston of Washington, 
J. E. J. Macon of Marengo, and Dr. Neal Smith of 
Clarke. Resolutions were adopted encouraging the 
proposed road, from Uniontown to Jackson. The 
following citizens were appointed as delegates to a 
similar meeting to be held at Choctaw Corner : Isham 
Kimbell, A. H. Dubose, John B. Taylor, Zeno S. 
Taylor, H. M. Waldrom, John M. Dabney, S. P. 
Taylor,' S. P. Stringer, T. J. Kimbell, Peter Dubose, 
J. C. Chapman, and Dr. W. H. Bridges. 



CLARKE COUNTY. 245 

At the meeting held at tlie Corner, Alexander 
Carleton was Chairman and J. D. Cowan, Secretary. 
S. M. Gilmore, T. P. Williamson, and S. B. Cleve- 
land were appointed to arrange speaking. Speeches 
were made by Major J. E. J. Macon and Dr. M. W. 
Creagh, of Marengo, and J. S. Dickinson of Clarke. 
•'The speaking concluded, the citizens partook of a 
S]>lendi 1 barbecue prepared by the citizens of Choctaw 
Cornel- and vicinity." Quite a railroad interest was 
awakened, but before the enterprise was fully com- 
menced the storm clouds in the political world began 
rapidly to gather, and all such enterprises were at 
once laid aside. 

J. J. GooDE, a young lawyer who visited Kansas 
after the passage of Douglas" Kansas-jSTebraska Bill, 
which became a law in May 1<S54, and who had re- 
turned again to his home, represented Clarke in the 
state Legislature in 185Y. A Montgomery corres- 
pondent then said of him, "He is a young man of 
the first promise, and I am no prophet if his destina- 
tion is not changed to Washington instead of Mont- 
gomery in the next four years." A true prophet 
would have foreseen something very different from 
Alabama rep esentatives gathered at Washington in 
four years from that autumn. How little we know 
(if what lies before us.-" 

A remarkable display of the aurora borealis, some- 

* Thursday. November 13, 187!t.— Death of James .1. Goode.— James J. 
(ioode, Efiq., an, old citizen of this county, and who, twenty five years ago, prac- 
ticed law at this place, died a week ago, near Moyler's store, in this county, after 
a brief illness, aged 50 years. In early life he was a prominent and influential 
citizen of the county and served two terms as representative in the Legislature of 
Alabama— from 1855 to 1859. He leaves four daughters to the care of friends 
and the orphans' God — their mother having several years ago passed to the spirit 
1 and. 



24(i CLAKKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

times (!allcMl iiortlierii li^'lit, was witiiossed in ('hu'ke 
county, and doubtless elsewliere in the Gulf States, 
September 1st, 185t). It was the grandest display of 
this wonderful ])henomenon seen in this region within 
the memory of the present generation. Many wei'e 
startled by its ai)])earance and the old superstition, that 
it foretold war, was freely spoken. Some said there 
would be war between the North and the South, and 
the var^'ing fortunes of that foretold contest were read 
by some in the apparent charging and marching squad 
rons of the sky. 

In the fall of 1850 the first session of the West 
Bend Academy opened. T. IT. Ball and Miss Annie 
C. Weston teachers. The close of this session, in 
June 186(>, (one of the teachers leaving to commence 
a theological course at Newt m Theological Institution, 
and the other being about to return to her home in 
Illinois,) was chai'acterized by a singular outburst of 
intense feeling. At the close o the ])ublic exei'cises 
the pu})ils and teachers retired to their study room 
and the tears and emotion of the students, even of 
stout-hearted and manly youilg men, would scarcely 
allow the utterance of any parting words. Some of 
those have met with their teacher since ; but others 
have passe I where they can meet no more except in 
Paradise. In prayer meetings and in Sabbath school 
they often met during that pleasant and precious year, 
and well may the living hope that they will yet all meet 
agaiTi. One lovely little girl, just learning to read, 
Lizzie Scruggs^ endeared herself peculiarly, as a pupil, 
to the heart of her teacher. No word was he able 
to utter when he went to her home to say to her good- 
bye. Her parents soon after i-em -ved to Texas. She 



CLARKi: COL'IS'TY. 247 

grew up to a noble womanliood, she married, and slie 
died. Some little ones in her mother's care, represent 
her in this world. 

The general reader can easily omit the following 
list of names, but there are some to whom it will be 
of interest. 

Names of pupils in West Bend Academy during its 
first session, in the order of their enrollment. 

William F. Thornton, Joseph Thornton, W. James 
Thornton, Jesse Turner, Gross Turner, Asahel May, 
William A. Pace, Sophia Pace, Henrietta Pace, Will- 
iam Creighton, Austin Pace, Manda Deas. Mary 
Deas. -Margaret May, George W. Deas, Micajah Sel- 
lers, Pufus Sellers, S. S. Parker. Martha White, 
Sarah White, Mary White, Rial Xobles, Lizzie Scruggs, 
Percy C. Williams, Milton Carl, Everett Carl, James 
Cox. Asbury Cox, William Deas, Florence Cox. Re- 
becca Cox, Eliza Deas, James Deas, Betty Cobb, Will- 
iam White. Jane Dunn, James Dunn, and Jefferson 
Dunn. 

Teachers of West Bend Academy. 

T. H. Ball & Miss Annie Weston. 

C. F. Frazier. 

Seabrook. 

G. H. McKee. 

T. J. Cowan. 

G. H. McKee. 

W. J. Thornton. 

After 1877 names are not here given. 

In 1858 a singular calamity befell the deer of 
Clarke county. Up to that time they had been very 
abundant. In that year a disease, similar to what is 
called the hlack tongue in cattle, swept them all off. 



248 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

They were found lying dead in the woods, in their old 
haunts and runways, and none seemed to survive the 
pestilence. Some have since found their way here from 
other places, or possibly some still lived in the deeper 
recesses of the pines and river bottoms, and again some 
deer are found in favorable localities. 

In the winter of 1859 some uneasiness was felt in 
regard to the colored people, especially on the large 
plantations at Christmas time. A feverish excitement 
was already quickening the pulsation of those who were 
the best informed in political affairs. But the holidays 
passed off quietly as usual, and everything as yet went 
on in the even tenor of the accustomed way. The 
election of 1860 was somewhat exciting, but its facts 
belong to a later chapter. 

We may now, therefore, examine more minutely 
some particulars in these most pros^jerous years of an 
established growth and an advancing civilization. 

The first particular is concerning the productions. 
The following extracts are from an editorial in the 
Grove Hill Herald, ISTovember 1851, James T. Figures, 
no doubt, the author. "What we wish to talk to our 
farming friends about, is the cultivation of cotton, in 
which all are more or less engaged. We want them to 
quit planting so much of it, and go to planting more corn, 
potatoes, peas, beans, pumpkins, wheat, rye, oats, rice, 
and sugar cane, and set about raising horses, mules, cat- 
tle, sheep, goats, and hogs. This is what they ought to 
do, and what, if wisdom is listened to they will do. The 
manner in which the farmers of this country* farm, will 
wear out and render worthless the best land the sun 
ever shone upon. * * ^ Had the farmers of this 

* This term it* used to mean region, and a region not very large. 



CLAKKE G()U]XTY. 249 

country, ten years since, commenced raising and pro- 
ducing what they consumed, instead of depending upon 
Tennessee and Kentucky' for it, tliey would be, at the 
present time, the most independent people in the United 
States.*' ''It is altogether a mistaken notion about 
money being make by the culture and production of 
a large quantity of cotton, unless the planters also 
produce what it requii-es to make the cotton." "We 
know some men in this county, who are industrious, 
energetic, and persevering, who rise earh^ and retire 
late, who stop for nothing except freshets in the river, 
who have found themselves, after a laborious life of 
thirty years, worse off than when they commenced. 
They made good crops of cotton, received fine prices, 
a part of the time, for the same, but at the end of each 
year found themselves a little in debt. Why was this 
so '. Simply because they bought all or nearly all, of 
their corn, fodder, &c. all of their provisions and 
negroe clothing, together with their horses, mules, 
and oxen. In short, they made nothing but cotton ; 
that, to them, was the only thing in which there was 
money. Their history shows how sadly they were 
mistaken." " If a farmer wishes to make money, he 
must raise his own bread, meat, and stock. Unless 
he does this, it is almost impossible for him to avoid 
going in debt, and whenever he commences falling 
behind, it is time for him to sell out.'" 

An editorial item in the same issue of the Herald 
says: "We were shown at the residence of Eli S. 
Thornton Esq., on Saturday morning last, some large 
turnips ; which measured across between twelve" and 
fifteen inches. They were the largest turnips we ever 
saw. without any exception. Esquire Thornton, we 



250 CLARKE AND ITS SUKROUNDINGS. 

are glad to see, is turning his attention to the culti- 
vation of vegetables, growing of the different kinds of 
small grain, and the raising of stock, and abandoning, 
to some extent, the culture of cotton. Were all our 
farmers to do this, thev would be in a more prosper- 
ous condition, and the value of their lands much 
enhanced." 

These quotations show that the leading pi-oduction, 
at this time, among the planters was cotton ; and not- 
withstanding the views, as expressed above, which 
some held concerning cultivating this staple so exclu- 
sively, it continued till 1861, to be the principal agri- 
cultural product. The planters opened new lands, 
purchased more hands, send oif additional bales of 
cotton, and probably some of them accumulated more 
wealth ; while others found the balance sheets in the 
books of the commission merchants at Mobile without 
any cash account in their favor. Yet, while an almost 
exclusive attention was given to the cultivation of the 
great Southern staple, the growth in population and 
an advance in material comforts, went rapidly onward. 
Two other great branches of industry did in tliese 
years engage the attention of a few. The one was, 
getting out spar timber for the foreign market ; and 
the other was, opening turpentine orchards, boxing the 
stately pines, erecting distilleries, collecting and sep- 
arating the rich products of the pitchy growth that 
formed the heavy light-wood. Tlie former ot these, 
especially, brought into the county quite an amount 
of money. The latter required more outlay, and the 
price of resin was in those years quite low. 

Let us look now more closely at the social and 
home life of this planting community. Fifty years 



CLARKE COUNTY. 251 

liave given stability to the customs and institutions of 
soeiet}^ and although but few existing families have 
actually been established for fifty years along these 
river courses and beside these living springs, it is fifty 
years since the pioneer evangelist, Lorenzo Dow, first 
visited the river settlers, whom he describes as " sheep 
without a shepherd." 

The ladies now ride in elegant carriages, rich fur- 
niture is in the houses, the sound of the r)iano is often 
heard, manj' delicate fingers have been trained to glide 
gracefully over the ivory keys, and the luxuries of 
American life abound. Around the dwelling houses 
are the china-tree or pride of India, the evergreen 
peach, the crape myrtle, and many other ornamental 
trees and shrubs. Beautiful roses, fragrant cape-jessa- 
mines, and many lovely native flowers, will be found, 
in their season, adorning the yards and gardens. 
"With the exception of one month, or sometimes of 
two, some variety of flowers will always be found in 
bloom. The houses are built for airiness and room 
rather than for warmth. Into some of these homes 
we may now enter as visitors. There are graceful 
young maidens now in many a home, not more sym- 
metrical in form than the old Mobilian girls in the 
days of De Soto's wanderings, perhaps no more lovely 
in appearance than some of the girls that experienced 
the exciting but uncomfortable fort life to escape the 
Indian barbarities, but they have enjoyed greater ad- 
vantages, and show the possession of culture, and 
wealth, and refinement. Among these are, distin- 
guished for their personal charms. Miss Sallie Harris, 
the daughters of Colonel Alston, the daughters of 
Colonel Savage, Miss Jackson at Gainestown, a few 



252 CLARKE AND Il^S SURROUNDINGS. 

at Suggsville, tmd some in other parts of tlie county 
who were not so generally known ont of their own 
neighborhoods and circles of associates. 

Let us make a visit at "the Hocks.'' Once occu- 
pied by Judge Creagh. now the residence of James 
A. Howze. and the home of Miss Anne and Miss 
Emma Alston, this pleasant abode will present a line 
illustration of Southern life during this last decade of 
early gro^vt]l and prosperity. 

Gentleman visitors arrive on horseback antl lady 
visitors in carriages. These are not open or covered 
buggies, nor one horse vehicles ; but close, substan- 
tial, family carriages, in which English nobility at 
their country seats might travel, drawn by well trained 
carriage horses, kept expressly for that purpose, with 
a colored driver in the coachman's box and a waiting 
girl on the little seat behind. Arriving at the large 
entrance gate, servants are soon in readiness to take 
charge of the horses, and the visitors are ushered 
immediately into the presence of the white family. 
Mrs. Howze is a fine appearing, cheerful, cultivated 
woman ; she knows how to entertain her guests, 
enabling them to feel unconstrained, and allowing 
them to seek their favorite ways of entertaining them- 
selves ; and she provides, through her various ser- 
vants, the diflerent requisites for personal comfort. 

Visitors are expected to remain for a day or two, 
and in so doing we become acquainted with the owner 
of the plantation, who will show to the gentlemen 
his growing crops ; if at a proper season of the year, 
will take them out with the hounds, armed with choice 
guns, on "a drive" for deer; perhaps take a fox 
chase at night ; and he will also devote a portion 



CLARKE COUNTY. 253 

of time to the ladies. (His overseer will look after 
the farm affairs. ) We shall also become acquainted 
with tlie young ladies of the family, who are lively, 
sociable, lovely, and attractive, and who enter heartily 
iuto any plans for making the visit pleasant ; and we 
also become very soon attached to the children, of 
whom' there are both boys and girls here, who are 
free from shyness and reserve, who are at the same 
time respectful, courteous, and well-behaved. Colonel 
Alston, the grandfather of these children also resides 
here, and with him a pleasant acquaintance is formed 
and with some of his sons who will probably appear 
as members of the household. The food, at meal 
times, will be abundant, and fruits and melons, as 
often as desired, are at hand in their seasons. The 
morning hours may be spent in rambles, in reading, 
or in conversation ; the afternoon and evening, after 
the siesta, will be devoted to visiting, to recreations 
according to taste, and to rambles among the tig trees, 
the peach trees, or, in the early autumn delightful 
visits to the muscadine vines, and, later in the sea- 
son, to a pleasant walk among the persimmon trees. 
Two or three days will probably pass before the 
visitors will be ready to leave. We are in no hurry. 
T^o special labor is pressing. Xo one is in haste to 
leave. The climate, the freedom from care and 
responsibilities, the abundance, the sociability, the 
hospitality, make existence in any of these homes a 
pleasure. 

But the carriage is ready, the horses are saddled, 
the waiting boy who is holding your horse is ready 
to receive his quarter or his dime, and you mount 
your steed and pass the large gate, and soon find 



254 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

yourself upon the highway, with its long line of mile 
posts, bound for your own home or the home of some 
other pleasant friends. 

Suppose we visit Suggsville. It is the time for the 
annual camp-meeting. The camp-ground is out in the 
grove, near an evertiowing spring. We will join a 
group of lively young persons on horseback. 

The young men have good-looking, well kept, and 
spii-ited horses ; the young ladies are also well-mounted 
and understand the management of their trained steeds. 
These are not worn down by daily toil in drawing the 
plow ; but many of them are kept especially for the 
comfort and pleasure of the young ladies. 

The blue-eyed girls in this company, who are now 
radiant with life, will not be introduced to the reader. 
The names of some of the young men are found more 
than once in this volume. At the camp-ground we iind 
represented very much of the wealth, the refinement, 
the beauty of the county. 

But the characteristic scenes of the camp-ground 
cannot be here portrayed. Those who have ever heard 
will not readily forget the singing of the colored peo- 
ple at the noon hour, when they had a meeting of their 
own at the stand. We must leave these gathered 
hundreds. 

It would be pleasant to visit some of the social 
gatherings called "iisli fries '' and partake of a genuine 
catfish chowder, could we only meet with those who 
gave life to these festivities. Two memorable ones 
may be referred to here ; the one in 1854, at Hockville, 
in "the fork," attended by the Paine and Austill fam- 
ilies, by Mrs. Davis and her daughters from Rock 
Castle, and other neighbors, when these daughters and 



CLARKE COUNTY. 2 00 

Miss Callie Windham were young ladies and Miss Jose- 
phine Austin was in the freshness and beauty of 
"sweet sixteen;'' and the other, in the summer of 
1860, by the Tombigbee river, at the Turner shoals, in 
West Bend, where were gathered the various members 
of Mrs. Turner's family, prominent among them for 
life and gaiety Miss Ba}', and school girls at home en- 
joying their vacation, also the two Thornton families, 
the three Scruggs families, the Pace and the May fam- 
ilies, and other neighbors and friends, with teachers 
and pupils ot West Bend Academy. Miss Sallie 
Pace was then in the full bloom of her girlhood beauty; 
and "Miss Jo'' Turner was full of that sparkling life, 
that vivacity, and wit, and intelligence, which she still 
retains, joined with a girlhood beauty then, which 
made such an attractive associate ; and there were 
many others pleasant, lovely, and intelligent. A 
beautiful, shady place was selected for the dinner, the 
horses, the carriages, were sheltered also from the sun- 
shine, and after the abundant repast the delightful 
social enjoyment of that festive gathering has by many 
not yet been forgotten. 

The large barbecue gatherings we cannot now 
attend. These brought together members of many 
neighborhoods and of different communities. At these, 
candidates for office found abundant opportunities for 
electioneering and political speeches were often made. 
The roast meats were of course a prominent feature of 
the provisions on these occasi(^ns. 

In regard to all the social life of the period over 
which we are now passing — from 1850 to 1860 — when 
the growth, prosperity, refinement, and cultivation, of 
this era had reached its zenith, the faithful annalist and 



256 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUJSTDINGS. 

historian must record the fact that we are looking at 
the condition of only the favored class of the com- 
munity. There were some, even in the county of 
Clarke, of that class whom so many writers have called 
"the poor whites,'" who were not found in these gath- 
erings, whose homes had very little attractiveness, 
where the presence of filth, and indications of the ex- 
cessive use of tobacco and whiskey, were manifest, and 
where the tell-tale countenances of clay-eating children 
would arrest the attention of the stranger. But those, 
in this region, were few. There are spots, we must 
remember, upon the sun. There were also here the 
house servants and the plantation hands who performed 
the manual labor, leaving to the planting community a 
large amount of leisure. This amount of leisure, 
affording so much time for either self-improvement or 
secial enjoyment, formed at this time a characteristic 
difference between the people of the cotton growing 
states and the toiling inhabitants of busy New England 
and the pioneers and settlers of the then growing and 
expanding West. 

We come to the closing year of this period. 

The crops were light in the year 1860. It was a 
very hot and dry summer. For a number of days in 
June the mercury was above blood heat at sunset, 
and in the middle of the day would reach 106° 
or 108°. 

A careful observer says that from February 14th to 
August 11th of that year there was not " one half of a 
season." A "season" means in such a connection, a 
shower sufficient to thoroughly wet the soil. In con- 
sequence of quite a failure in crops debts accumulated. 



CLARKE COUNTY. 257 



COTTON, 



A few special words maybe presented here concern- 
ing this great staple. Although this part of the state 
of Alabama is not called the "cotton growing region," 
it grows to good advantage, and the raising of ft is 'in 
two respects almost a necessity for very many land- 
holders. In the first place, it is necessary to raise cot- 
ton in order to have credit, either at Mobile or with the 
county merchants. As a general rule business men 
apply this principle, no cotton, no credit. Thus, while 
some do not consider raising cottoTi profitable, finding 
credit to be needful they continue to plant cotton. 

In the second place, it is the only crop for which 
the producer is sure of getting money. Cotton will 
bring gold less or-more. It is not a perishable article, 
and when picked and in the bale one can always form 
some idea of his cash resourses. Cattle, sheep, and 
hogs may die ; vegetables are perishable. 
17 



CHAPTER XL 

THE PERIOD OF CONFLICT. 1860-1865. 

" T"T HAS ever been in accordance with the spirit of 
1 human policy that principles under the circum- 
stances of one period are accounted patriotic which un- 
der the cii'cumstances of another era are denounced as 
treason." Felt's History of New England. From 
"The Pilgrims." 

In every portion of this land, then known as the 
United States of America, the year of 1860 was event- 
ful. It was the 3'ear in which the political differences 
of the different sections and parties culminated. 

In 1820 a discussion commenced in Congress which 
ended, for that time, in the Missouri Compromise. In 
1850 Congress passed the Fugitive-Slave Act. 

In 1854 the Missouri Compromise was repealed, 
which act led to the formation of the Republican Party, 
since so called. In 1857 the noted Dred Scott Decision 
was rendered by the Supreme Court of the United 
States. The John Brown Raid into Virginia occurred 
in the fall of 1859. And in I860, four presidential 
candidates being in the field, Breckenridge, Douglas, 
Lincoln, and Bell, Abraham Lincoln was declared to 
be elected President. 

In December of that year, (the telegraph wires on 
the night of November sixth, the day of the election, 
having conveyed the intelligence over the country that 
A.braham Lincoln would receive a majority of the votes 
of the Electoral College, 1 South Carolina passed an 



THE PERIOD OF CONFLICT. 259 

ordinance of secession from the Union. In January ot 
1861 similar ordinances were passed by the States of 
Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Louisi- 
ana ; and in February Texas also passed a similar 
ordinance. 

The following is the record of the vote of Clarke 
county on the question of secession, as copied from the 
Clarke County Deijiocrat. 

"state convention — VOTE OF CLARKE. 

O. S. Jewett. C. Poole. 

Grove I-Iill 185 5 

Jackson 102 

Suggsville 73 

Choctaw Corner 98 66 

Coffeeville 32 ' 84 

Gainestown 39 3 

Good Spring 32 

McLeod's 12 2 

Clarkesville 8 T 

Mitcham's 12 

CampbelFs 45 

Bashi 35 1 

Walker Springs 10 4 

Indian Kidge 18 

Gates' 5 6 

Cane Creek 17 2 

Gosport 10 

733 170 

170 

Majority for secession 563 

|^°"]Sro election held at Tallahatta Springs nor at 
Pleasant Hill. 

The Election. — The election in this county on the 
24th ultimo, passed off in the most quiet manner, 



260 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

evincing the firmness and deep determination of our 
people in the consummation of the responsible duty 
devolving upon them. The result exhibits unwonted 
unanimity among our citizens in favor of separate State 

secession." 

It very soon becoming evident that civil war was near 
at hand, the patriotic citizens of Clarke prepared at 
once to enter upon that stern conflict which they ex- 
pected would establish the independence of the Con- 
federate States of America. 

Some, however, there were, probably but a few, 
who entered upon the contest because they considered 
it to be their duty, and not with any hope of ultimate 
success. Volunteer companies were raised in dift'erent 
parts of the county, and the brave sons and fair daugh- 
ters of Clarke entered zealously into the contest for 
independence. 

The views, the feelings, and the spirit of this period, 
will appear vividly, and free from any suspicion of being 
colored, in the recorded words and deeds of that spirit- 
stirring era, which are here re-produced from the columns 
of the one patriotic publication of Clarke, The Clarke 
County Democrat. 

"flag presentation. 

This letter, Mr. Editor, should have reached you at 
an earlier period, but in the hurry of departure, it was 
neglected for other matters not more interesting but 
considered more momentous. I cannot let the occasion 
pass without thanking in the most heart-felt manner, 
in the name of the volunteers, those fair ladies of Choc- 
taw Corner, who presented them with their beautiful 
banner, with its azure field, its bright stars and ex- 
pressive motto. Brightl}" and gallantly it waved in the 
breeze, borne by the fair hands of beauty in the person 
of our charming visitor. Miss Emma Portis, assisted by 



TMK PERIOD OF CONFLICT, 261 

Miss Carrie Goodwin. After raarcliing a sliort distance, 
from Mr. Poole's to Mr. Cleveland's building, (fre- 
quently used as a kind of town Hall) we were presented 
with our flag by Miss Carrie Groodwin, in a most grace- 
ful and patriotic manner. Many noble sentiments did 
she utter most felicitously, which caused an echoing 
throb in manly bosoms and tears in many bright eyes. 
One sentence recurs to my memory — "Go forth, soldier, 
to the field of fame, and we who present this banner 
expect it to be returned brightened by your chivalry 
and courage, or to become the shroud of the slain." 
One of our company, Mr. T. Cowan, received it in a 
brief but expressive manner. "Queens of the South, 
Queens of our hearts," said he, "we will overcome our 
IS'orthern enemies." 

After the ceremonies were over, we were invited by 
our fair friends to partake of a most tempting and 
sumptuous dinner with a profusion of good things. By 
request of the ladies, the volunteers first participated, 
and did ample justice to the good cheer. Afterwards 
the table was filled many times, and yet there was 
enough and to spare. This was a Gala Day in our little' 
village. Old men and matrons, youths and maidens 
came to bid us God speed. Proud were we to be in the 
first Company from our county to meet the invader, 
while many vaunted patriots were willing to wait "for 
a more convenient season." 

A Volunteer." 

According to the above letter and the following edi- 
torial, the Gkove Hill Guards was the first volunteer 
company of the county. 

''THE GROVE HILL GFARDS. 

This Company left our town on last Monday morning 
f'')r Fort Morgan. The Clioctaw Corner recruits came 
in on Sunday afternoon in fine style, with martial music 
and the beautiful flag presented by the ladies of their 
village floating to the breeze. It contains the simple 
and, we doubt not, appropriate motto — "To the Brave." 



'262 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS, 

The procession passed througli oor principal streets to 
the delight of our citizens manj of whom beheld the 
interesting and imposing spectacle with emotions of 
pride and patriotic gratification. 

The main Company started from this place earlv on 
Monday morning with the addition of another beautiful 
flag presented them by the ladies of this place, with the 
noble motto — "Never Surrender.'' 

Arriving at Jackson about 12 o'clock, the Company 
was cheered and greeted hj a considerable concourse 
of the citizens of the town and vicinity, and where, by 
invitation of our liberal and patriotic fellow citizen, 
Isham Kimbell, Esq., they halted and partook of a 
splendid dinner prepared for the Company and accom- 
panying friends. 

The accommodating commander of the splendid 
steamer Cheerokee had awaited the arrival of the Com- 
pany about three hours. The Guards embarked on the 
above steamer about 1 o'clock, p. m., amid the most 
deafening shouts and cheers from boat and shore. As 
the beautiful steamer moved majestically away we 
noticed many tearful eyes. Many prayers will ascend 
the heavenly throne for the health and lives of brothers, 
sons and husbands among the gallant Grove Hill 
Guards. May they all be permitted an early return to 
their relatives and friends. 

Well may Capt. Hall be proud of his Company, for 
in it are men worthy of any foeman's steel. 

ROLL OF THE GROVE HILL GUARDS. 

J. M. Hall, Captain. 

J. M. GoFF, 1st Lieutenant. 

A. A. Alston, 2d Lieut. 

Wm. M. Boroughs. 3d Lieut. 

Geo. B. Hall, 1st Sergeant. 

Robert B. Flfming, 2d Sergeant. 

R. H. Wade, 3d Sergeant. 

R. L. Richardson, 4th Sergeant. 

W. F. WooDARD, 1st Corporal. 

J. R. Jackson,^ 2d Corporal. 



THE PERIOD OF CONFLICT. 263 

C. G. SuNBLAi), 3d Corporal. 

W. B. Woods, 4tli Corporal. 

Privates.— \\' . W. Allen, Ed. Allen, R. B. Ander- 
son, Josiah Blaekwell, G. W. Bettis, J. D. Blackwell, 
T. J. Boroughs, J. R. Boutwell, M. Boutwell, John C. 
Chapman, T. J. Cowan, John T. Clarke, B. A. Cobb, D. 
M. Drurv, A. J. Drury, J. J. Dean, W. H. H. Davis, 
G. W. Davis. L. W. Davis, Joshua A. Davis, Milo 
Deaton, T. J. Findlej, W. F. Fountain, W. C. Findley, 
B. C. Foster, B. I. Goodloe, J. Q. Gardner, Chas. H. 
Gilmore, John W. Daffin, W. H. Grayson, W. H. 
Gil more, James Hughes, John C. Howze, Wm. J. 
Hamilton, F. M. Harper, John M. Harvey, G. W. 
Hudson, W. R. Jackson, B. F. Jackson, J. J. King, 
W. M. Knight, J. Y. Lafitte, E. Matthews, Jas. McKin- 
ney^ J. B. Maiden, J. M. Wilson, G. AV. Nash, Jos. 
Overstreet, Richard Osborn, Charles Poole, W. H. 
Peeples, G. W. Rendahl, W. L. Spinks,* Joseph G. 
Spinks, James A. Spinks, Jesse Stringer, John A. 
Stutts, C. A. Summers, J. Sheffield, James B. Sum- 
mers, A. y. Sanders, George Steed, E. W. Sims, Henry 
Sentell, Jerry M. Tucker, Jehu T. Woodard, T. A. 
Walker. Elias R. Wiggins, George A. Wade, M. F. 
Woodard, John J. Wood; G. W. Williams, William 
Woodard." 

Probably the second company was the one named 
in the letter below. 

" SuGGsviLLE, Ala., March 4, 1861. 
Mr. Isaac Grant. 

Dear Sir — You will find below a list of the Company 
called the " Suggsville Grays," completed to day, 
and a report of which will be made to the Governor 
forthwith, with a resolution unanimously adopted re- 
questing immediate service. Two of our officers have 
gone to Montgomery to offer our services to the State, 
and as several have expressed a desire to join we will 
say that our list is yet open and a few more recruits will 

* Excused by the Company. 



264 CLARKE AWD ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

be received. We wishand expect to go to Fort Morgan 
or Pensacola forthwith, any how, m a week or two. 
Men inclined to serve the country now liave the cliance. 
Drill at Suggs ville every Saturday at 10 o'clock, a. m., 
until we leave. 

S. B. Cleveland, Captain. 

A. R. Lankford, 1st Lieutenant. 

J. W. PoRTis, 2d Lieutenant. 

A. B, Cleveland, 3d Lieut. 
J. B. Mobley, 1st Sergeant. 

B. A. Davis, 2d Sergeant. 
E. M. PoRTis, 3d Sergeant. 
M. B. Barnes, 4th Sergeant. 

C. E. BussEY, 1st Corporal. 

J. A. Megginson, 2d Corporal. 

J. H. Hearin, 3d Corporal. 

K. B. Rivers, Ath Corporal. 

M. J. Gordon, Clerk and Judge Advocate. 

James Odom, Treasurer and Collector. 

B. S. Barnes, Surgeon. 

A. B. Davis, Standard-bearer. 

John Ew^ing, Drummer. 

Privates. — J. A. Cleveland, Robert Allen, W. T. 
Jones. J. S. Bracy, J. J. Dawson, \V. A. Odom, W. J. 
Hearin, J. A. Smith, J. C. Kimbell. D. A. Foreman, 

A. M. Callier, John Lovett, Wm. Tolbird, W. P. 
Barnes, J. H. Dawson, J. E. Demi}', Robert Smith, T. 

B. Saint, W. A. Myrick, J. Y. Kilpatrick, S. S. Lafitte, 
W. P. Hall, J. W. Taylor, J. W. McGill, R. F. 
Dolbear, W. L. Perrv, R. D. Parker, T. Holt, R. P. 
Callier. 

The following is a copy of a resolution oft'ered 
by Sergeant J. B. .Mobley, which w^as unanimously 
adopted : 

Whereas the Suggsville Greys have completed their 
organization, and have enlisted for the purpose ot 
serving their country and not as holiday soldiers, and 
being for the want of necessary drilling inefficient and 



I 



THE PERIOD OF CONFLICT. 205 

incapable should our country call upon ns in our present 
condition, of rendering effective service, therefore — 

Resolved, that when we report ourselves to the Gov- 
ernor as organized he be requested to order us to some 
point wiiere we can obtain proper military instruction, 
being satistied the lesson will be a valuable one should 
there be no war. and in the event of hostilities indis- 
pensable.' ' 

The following local items ])ertaiii to these two com- 
panies above named. 

Thanks. — At a meeting of the Grove Hill Guards 
on last Saturday, Capt. J. M. Hall presiding, the 
thanks of the company were tendered D. Daffin, Esq., 
for his valuable services in their behalf. Also to 
those gentlemen who furnished them the barbecue on 
that day, to Messrs. Cyrus Allen and Thos. Carter for 
superintending its preparation, and to Mr. Gi-ant for 
his favorable notices in the ''Democrat.'" To those 
ladies of Grove Hill and of Choctaw Corner who 
honored the Company with its two beautiful flags we 
were also requested to return lasting and heartfelt 
thanks. 

The Suggsville Grays number now about lifty men 
— have tendered their services to Gov. Moore, and 
will be ready to march in a few days. The military 
spirit of our gallant old county is becoming aroused 
and she will do her whole duty if war be forced 
upon us. 

The following addresses will present very clearly and 
fully the views and feelings in the county at this time. 
They were delivered in either March or April, 1861. 

FLA.G I'RESENTATION — ADDRESS OF MISS EMMA PORTIS. 

Soldiers of the Suggsville Grays : 

Valor, one of the most ennobling characteristics 
of your nature, has prompted you to assemble here 
enlisted in the service of your country ; not from any 



266 CLAKKE AND fxS SURROUNDINGS. 

vain love of display, but impelled by a sense of im- 
perative duty. Whilst others, with equal opportuni- 
ties with yourselves and many of them far better 
situated to make the sacrifice, have failed, refused or 
declined to accept the post of danger, the privilege 
has been reserved to the ladies gratefully to welcome 
you to the post of honor. And to my female friends, 
whose flattering kindness has commissioned me to 
represent them, I shall always feel deeply indebted, 
as it was rather their generosity than any superior 
merit of mine that selected me to address you at this 
time. Our feelings on this occasion are of commingled 
joy and sadness. It is but natural that we should feel 
a sigh of regret at the absence from our homes of the 
bold and ready men who have organized themselves 
to make effectual that physical power and true courage 
which is better in its demonstration than its boast. It 
is with joy we see men in our midst worthy of being 
honored as our friends in peace and as our defenders 
in war. The sky of our political horizon has for the 
last three months been overhung with clouds of a dark 
and threatening nature. The unnecessary agitation 
of the slaver}^ question has brought with it a train 
of evils for whicli the most astute and talented states- 
man cannot find a ready cure. This absurd theory 
has broken up a government once the boast of free- 
dom, but now despised as the nursery of tyranny. 
That once glorious Union, around which have clus- 
tered so many historical associations, the most stu- 
pendous monument of the past, is now crumbled and 
fallen ; and that proud banner which so long floated 
triumphantly with the American eagle soaring aloft 
in his upward flight, is now rudely torn down and 
thrown to the reckless waves of despotism : and the 
genius of libertj', mantled for a season in gloom, wept 
despondently over the apparent doom of America. 
Tlie South has long been the theme of Northern preju- 
dice and aggression. The principles which actuated 
those who threw the tea overboard in Boston harbor 
in 1776, shotted and fired the guns of Morris's Island 



THE PERIOD OF CONFLICT. 267 

into the 'Star of the West' in 1861. Great and uni- 
versal was the burst of exultant applause with which 
every true Southern heart re-eclioed the shouts of 
South Carolina's mothers at the gallantry of their sons, 
at that eventful period, in tones not to be misunder- 
stood by our Northern oppressors. The ladies of this 
place and vicinity, feeling a warm participation in that 
spontaneous glow of patriotism, and with an enviable 
hope that the men of tliis company may divide the 
lionors of a war now about to be entered into in 
defense of the great jirinciples of free government, 
whilst cheering you by their smiles and encouraging 
you by their prayers, have determined that you should 
carry with you into the tented field and upon the 
bloody plain of the battle ground a memento of the 
glad hearts who ma)' welcome your honored return to 
your firesides, in this stand of colors. The horrois of 
war, and the suff'erings of the wounded and dying, are 
alike calculated to inspire the fruits of victory with a 
hallowed remembrance and to make men pause before 
entering upon its dreaded details, yet the consoling 
reflection supervenes that every signal advance of man 
from heathenish and savage bai'barity to the highest 
civilization has heretofore been consecrated by the 
shedding of blood, and this progressive Independence 
which we so much admire and enjoy must in the pres- 
ent advance anticipate its gory page. This flag has 
on its blue field the bow of promise, the covenant of 
philanthropic patriotism, that the rights of Americans 
shall never again be invaded by a ruthless and domi- 
neering people, who have enriched the capitalists and 
impoverished the laborers by their pseudo republican- 
ism. Under its beauteous rays the great purpose of 
our mutual hearts is expressed in the simple motto, 
'Our Country.'' 

' Our Country I tlie loved, troasured home of the free ; 
Our Country I oh, shall it be said now of thee, 
That fallen thou art from a pinnacle high, 
With none to defend — no aid for thee niffh ? 



268 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

' The legacy precious descended to us, 
Far removed be the recreant false to the trust, 
Who submissive would be to retain a low place, 
Mid traitors who dare the same lineage trace.' 

On tlie azure field of the opposite side, the bright Con- 
stellation, which has through time aided the benighted, 
the wearied and care-worn by its effulgent ravs, is in- 
dicative of the seven nationalities we represent, which 
have congregated themselves under the canopy of truth, 
justice and a constitution, to share each others fortunes 
and divide, each others woes. The Confederate States 
of America, although beclouded and dimmed in their 
diurnal progress by the smoke from the cannon of a 
faithless and detested enemy, must gleam forth in re- 
newed brilliancy in the great galaxy of Heaven's recog- 
nized and eternal jewels. And to jou, ^ Suggsville 
G aj'S,' we confide this emblem of our zeal for liberty, 
trusting that it will nerve your hands and strengthen 
your hearts in the hour of trial, and that its presence 
will forbid the thought of seeking any other retreat 
than in death. Oh, let not its shining gloss and 
ample folds be ever dimmed. The gleaming swords 
and bayonets of the ' Suggsville Grays ' can never per- 
mit this flag to trail in ignoble surrender ; but, rather 
that it may return from ihe green savannahs of our 
Southern battle fields with its torn and tattered folds 
oidy faded by the leaden storm and the iron hail. 
Our Government is inaugurated, and must he main- 
tained at every hazard. 

The terrors of war a e far less than the degradation 
of ignoble submission. Go on, gallant 'Grays,' sus- 
tained by the reflection that you are right, and by the 
remembrance of the continuous obligations which our 
Revolutionary ancestry entailed upon us by their deeds 
of self-sacrifice and noble daring. — Citizen soldiers, 
take up your line of march with a double quickstep to 
drive back the invader from our hills and shores, re- 
membering that a benevolent Providence will gr<nv the 
grain around your ploughshares which you leave stand- 
ing on your productive farms, in obedience to the 



THE PERIOD OF CONFLICT. 269 

promise that a righteous people shall never be for- 
saken. ^tii.y the musical warblings of the forest 
minstrel greet you, and the rich fruits and foliage of 
our farms pour forth their sweetest fragrance on your 
homeward return, to welcome you to the cordial con- 
gratulations of friends and families. 

CAPTAIN s. 13. Cleveland's reply. 

Ladies: — The position which my companions have 
flatteringly assigned me, imposes upon me the grateful 
task of replying to the eloquent address of your fair 
representative, and of returning our thatdvs for this 
token of your regard — for this evidence of your a[)pre- 
ciation of the motives by which we are actuated. 

There are occasions in the lives of all of us when 
we find language impotent to convey a just conception 
of the deep feelings which animate our bosoms. Had 
I the eloquence of Chatham, were my lips touched with 
fire, I feel that I should fail to impress you with a just 
idea of the deep passions which at this moment agitate 
our breasts. To feel that we are about to risk our lives 
in the defence of our countrj^ calls forth some of the 
noblest sentiments of our nature. To know that we 
have the ap{>roval and the prayers of wives, mothers, 
sisters and daughters, those whom we hold the nearest 
and dearest of earthly relations, touches the tenderest 
chord of all our feelings. But when you add to these 
such a touching demonstration of that approval and 
sympathv as is evinced in the address we have just 
heard — as is testified to by this gorgeous and expres- 
sive token, and as is hallowed by the moist eyes I see 
surrounding me — then, indeed, is language beggared 
and the tongue of eloquence itself mute. 

Ladies, truly have you declared it is not any vain 
love of display that sends us to our country's rescue. 
If we court the post of danger, it is in response to 
duty's call. — Reared amid scenes of peace and quiet, 
accustomed to the pacific duties of domestic life, enjoy- 
ing the blessings of happy homes, and receiving the 



270 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

tender cares and attentions of loving relatives and kind 
friends, strong indeed mnst be the incentive ;ind im- 
perious the sense of duty, which could induce us to 
forego all of these for the hardships, the trials and 
dangers of the life we are soon to lead. Our country 
demands the sacrifice, our love for 3'ou requires the 
peril, and our manhood seeks the hazard. 

We do not enter upon the discharge of these new 
duties without a proper conviction of their importance 
and a serious reflection upon the hard experiences in 
store for us, nor are we so devoid of feeling as not to 
be touched, aye, deeply moved, at the near prospect of 
separating for a time, we know not how long, from 
those whom we so tenderly love. — These familiar 
scenes, these much loved forms by which we are now 
surrounded, will go with us wherever we may go. Oft 
shall memory revert to this place and these associations 
to live over again the interesting ceremonies that are now 
enacting. Perhaps a sick son shall from the hard bed 
of a hospital couch, in memory review the occurrences 
of this hour, here well he will remember the tear which 
he sees to-day glisten in a fond mother's eye. Perhaps 
a wounded husband shall vainly wish for the tender 
hands of a loving wife now with him to bind up a lacer- 
ated side. Or, perchance, some absent lover in the 
peril of the hour of battle shall recur to these happy 
moments and again enjoy its cherished recollections. 
We are proud to acknowledge such feelings — tis by 
the influence of such we are prompted to our missions. 
Oft shall they people the solitude of the lonely mid- 
night watch — oft relieve the fatigue of the weary 
noonday march, and when the hour of danger comes 
they shall strengthen our hearts and nerve our arms to 
the daily strife. 

To you, fair representatives of the seven nationali- 
ties which compose our new government, allow me to 
address a word. You are fit emblems of the sover- 
eigns you symbolize. Armed with the weapons of 
innocence, virtue and justice, history has acknowledged 
you in every cause invincible. So with the States 



THE PERIOD OF CONFLICT. 271 

your tableaux indicates. In the sacred cause of free- 
dom they haye girded on the sword and buckler, and 
may safely defy the power of tyranny thougli the 
world combine against them. As sisters united hand 
in hand, they go forth t" nourish and protect the 
sacred tree of liberty. They are hapyjy to share a 
common weal and are pledged to diyide a common 
woe. Can we doubt their success in such a mission i 
Will not that Being whose diyine promise is giyen to 
support the right and oyerthrow wrong, bring them 
safely through all the dangers that beset their path ? 

Ladies : On the folds of this token of the zeal that 
animates you in behalf of the cause we go to defend, you 
haye impressed the shadow of an emblem, itself a 
well-spring of hope to the desponding of every con- 
dition. — Upon this bhie-tield you have traced an 
image which holds out a promise never yet forfeited, 
that the darkest clouds which can o'erhang us will 
yet be rolled away and the gloomiest prospect be 
gladdened by returning sunshine. As the sign of 
the sacred covenant itself was to the faithful, when 
set in the Heavens, so shall its beautiful image in- 
scribed on tliis, be to us. Though misfortunes come, 
though po! teutons clouds envelope our cause in gloom, 
though hope may waver twixt doubt and fear, yet will 
a view of this emblem renew our faith in the coming 
sunshine. 

By your motto, we are reminded of the priceless 
boon bequeathed us by the patriots and heroes of 'Y6. 
" Our Country ! " What a host of thrilling recollections 
rush upon us at the mention of those words? Robbed 
of those rights which alone can give us a country, we 
should be a libel upon our ancestry and a disgrace to 
manhood. 

That figurative constellation which so resplendently 
shines on the other side of this banner, is typical of 
a cluster of governments which have recently united 
in one. As we have shouldered our arms for the 
purpose of sustaining the position wliich these 
States have taken among the nations of the earth. 



272 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

and of asserting at the point of the bayonet if 
necessary, their right to throw off the oppressor's 
yoke, so, fair friends, do we pledge our fortunes, our 
lives and our sacred honor, to defend this offering of 
3'ours at the shrine of liberty. When next it meets 
your gaze, a deepei- crimson may die its folds — upon 
its blue-field you may trace a stain made by the blood 
of its defenders — but I feel assured I may pledge the 
lives of the gallant spirits around me that dishonor's 
tarnish will not be there. 

Grays : You have heard tlie pledges which you 
have authorized me to make. I charge you, see to it 
they are fulfilled. To your keeping I consign this 
sacred trust — watch over it as vigilantl}' as you would 
the well-being of those who have presented it — guard 
it as you would the nearest and dearest object of your 
life — should any fall in its defence let their comrades 
be able to report to these fair donors, that a soldier's 
fate has met with a soldier's lionor." 

The third company, of which records appear, bore 
the name of Clarke County Rangers. 

ROLL OF CAPTAIN CLEVELAND'S CLARKE COUNTY CAVALRY. 

S. B. Cleveland, Captain. 

J. Y. KiLi'ATRicK, 1st Lieut. 

T. B. Ckeagh, 3d Lieut. 

J. C. Chapman, ()rderlv Serg't. 

Privates — Y^. J. Allen, W. M. Bell, T. J. Booth, 
R. R. Rrvars, Jerrold Bvrne, J. T. Clark, of Clarke, 
J. T. Clark, of Baldwini G. T. Cox, G. W. Creagh, 
Hiram Creighton, J. A. Culpepper, Martin Casey, 
W. D. Campbell, J. M. Davis, J. A. Davis, L. W. 
Davis, J. K. Davidson, W. H. Doyle, A. J. Drury, 
U. L. Duraut, W. J. Fanning, R. E. German, J. E. 
Griffin, W. H. Grayson, D. P. Gregory', Daniel Gil- 
more, Henry Hammond, G. P. Herbot. O. S. Holmes, 
R. R. Horn, J. L. Howell, James Kennison, J. W. 
Litchfield, Henry Lovet, E. G. Masters, Elijah Math- 
ews, B. H. HcMillan, R. D. McMillan, J. A. McKin- 



THE PERIOD OF CONFLICT. 



273 



ney, D. T. Moseley, W. K. Mosely, W. M. Nelson, 
Jolm Newtf>n, William Painter, Columbus Painter, 
William Porterfield, T. T. Presnall, E. II. Ritcliife, J. 
M. Rivers, Lee Roberts, J. A. Robinson, G. W. Rob- 
inson. E. Rodgers, W. F. Sibley, A. S. Siblej, N. B. 
Singletacy, E. C. Smith. J. H. Smith. E. M. Stapleton, 
W. W. Summers, Frank Taylor, John Tyree, G. A. 
Wade, R. M. Wainriglit, M.' Y. B. Wainright, J. M. 
Williams. John S. Wood. 

The following is from the field. 

Memphis, Tkxx., Oct. 20, 1861. 
Mr. Grant: 

Herewith please find a list of the names of those 
who furnished the Clarke County Rangers with horses 
and their appraised value : 



John L. Jeffries, 1 horse, appra 
E. L. Marshall 1 
R. L. Sewall 1 
Miel Ezell 1 

James Wimbish 1 ♦" 

Elbert Gwynn 1 " 

Armisted Callier 1 " 

Robert Brodnax 1 " 
W. W. Armistead 2, lat $250 and 

Alex. Cammack 1 " 

C. D. Hamilton 1 " 

Frank Whatley 1 " 

James Cleveland 1 " 

Louis Pope 1 " 

Wm. A. Morris 1 " 

William Gates 1 '' 

Wesley Rodgers 1 " 

•-- -- \ '^ 

1 

1 " 

1 

1 " 



Allen Odom 
Norflet Horn 
Abram Fanning 
James Fanning 
Giles Chapman 

I think the above is correct, b 
18 



ised at $165 

200 

275 

175 

215 

• 225 

225 

225 

$165,^ 415 

190 

290 

175 

225 

200 

175 

240 

200 

150 

200 

200 

225 

225 



it if any one has fur- 



2^4 CLARKE AND ITS StJRROUNDIiNTGS. 

nished a horse whose name is omitted he will please 
inform me by letter. 

Persons who have furnished horses will please make 
8ome one in the Company an agent to draw the hire 
and transmit to their order. 

We are encamped about 4 miles of Memphis await- 
ing to be armed. Six companies of our regiment have 
gone on to Kentucky ; we w^ill go as soon as armed. I 
will keep you advised of our movements. 
Very respectfully yours, 

S. B. CLEVELAND. 

A fourth company was called the Dickinson 
Guards. 

''Fl;VG Presentation. — The ceremonies of a iiag 
presentation to the Dickinson Guards on last Monday 
were highly interesting. The Baptist Church, a very 
large building, was crowded to overflowing by ladies 
and gentlemen eager to witness the proceedings. The 
ceremonies commenced by an appropriate prayer from 
the Rev. R. M. Thomas, then a neat and beautiful ]~>re- 
sentation speech was delivered by Miss Alice A. Sav- 
age, of this place — followed by a feeling and eloquent 
reception speech from Mr. T. A. Wimbish of the 
Guards. A few remarks were then made by James 
S. Dickinson, Esq., after which the Dickinson Guards 
and others repaired to the grove at the Male Academy 
and partook of a barbecue prepared for the occasion. 

The flag was a large and beautiful one, and reflects 
much credit upon the fair hands that executed it. Its 
motto — "Victory or death" — is a sublime sentiment, 
and we are sure the Dickinson Guards will not dishonor 
it, be the storm of battle ever so high and destructive. 

Dinner discussed, able and patriotic addresses were 
delivered in the CV)urthouse by R. B. Armistead and 
O. S. Jewett, Esqrs. 

The Guards, we learn, start for Mobile to-day. The 
good wishes and prayers of their relatives, friends and 
of the people of the county generally, will follow them 
in their absence, wherever their country calls them." 



THE PERIOD OF CONFLICT. 2 ( O 

The Monday above mentioned was October 14th, 
ISOl. The foUowiiii:; are tlie speeches then delivered. 

"•SI'KEC'H OF MISS ALICK A. SAVAOE. 

Soldiers of the Dickinson Gumxls: 

In behalf of the hidies of this phice and vicinity, I 
present you tliis flag. You have a great duty to 
pertbrm. Yon are engaged in a great cause — life, 
liberty and every thing we hold sacred and dear are in- 
volved in this contest. You leave your lionies, your 
fathers, mothers, sisters, wives and children to fight for 
liberty and independence. Brave men! May heaven 
smile upon you. The women of Lacedenion had the 
])leasure of knowing that the prosperity of their country 
had been secured by the education of their children, 
and when their sons were going to the field of battle to 
dwell amidst the din of tear and the terror of arms ^ 
their charge to them was — "Go, my sons, and return 
victorious or fall in the cause of your country." The 
mothers of our country, this day, give you in charge 
the noble sentiment — the burning and patriotic words 
of the women of Lacedenion — " Go, my sons, and re- 
turn victorious or fall in the cause of the South," and. 
their fair daughters are here inviting you to the con- 
test ; and with one hand would gird on the flaming 
sword and buckler, and with the other point to the in- 
vading foe. 

I now present you this flag — on its folds are in- 
scribed the words, "Victory or Death." Take it, bear 
it to the field of battle — may it never trail in the dust. 
May the name inscribed, upon it, and the motto we 
have selected inspire you to deeds of noble daring. 
When Cornelia was asked for her jewels she pointed to 
her sons. The mothers of our country, when asked for 
theirs, will turn and point to you, and such as you, and 
exclaim : these are they. 

REPLY OF SERGEANT T. A. WniBISH. 

Ladies: 

Permit me, in the name of the Dickinson Guards, 
to tender you our sincere thanks for this beautiful 



1*78 IM.AKKK .\M> 1 rs srUKOlNDINGS. 

biinner. We roi'oivi' it as an additional tokon of voiir 
aj>prol>ation and ^ood wislios tor tlu' conit'ort. pros- 
perity and suoccss ot" us who ai"0 now roadv to loave 
(nir homes and all that wc hold sacred and dear to drive 
back the Yankee toe tVom this, onronce happy countrv. 
As you have truly said, every thing we hold saereil and 
dear is involved in this eontest. Our liberty and 
independence, the i-ichest boon bequeathed by heaven 
to man, are at stake. And tho' mournful the task to bid 
a long and perhaps a last farewell to onr homes, our 
mothers, wives and little ones, yet the same })atriotism 
that burned in the bost>ms of onr noble forefathers, 
prompts us to make the sacrifice, and to strike for the 
independence of our beloved South in this her day of 
trial and distress. We know the last resting place for 
liberty antl freeilom is in the Constitution of the South- 
ern Confederacy ; and we are willing to sacrifice our- 
selves and our all for our country. 

We will renuMuber the advice of the women ot' 
Laceilemon to their sons, and we will always cherish 
the sentiment of the noble charge you have given us 
this day. — Ever mindful that we are the freeborn sons 
(^f illustrit>us sires that braved the storm of Alban's 
wrath and laid prostrate the Lion of England at the 
feet of the American Kagle. We owe allegiance to 
nothing but duty, our cimntry and our God. At t)ur 
country's call we are ready to march to the tented field 
and to the battle's din. And as long as valor may be 
esteemed a virtue and necessary to perpetuate the in- 
dependence i>f a nation, base timidity shall never find 
a resting place in our bosoms, but, rather wrapped in 
the folds of the stars and bars committed to our care, 
we would prefer an honorable death and a soldier's 
burial to an ignoble life secured by the abandonment of 
the virtues inherited from our forefathers. With full 
confidence in the justice of cnir cause and the valor of our 
little batul, it shall ever be our pride, ladies, so to eon- 
duct ourselves that, when our enemy is driven back to 
his Northern den, and our independence acknowledged 



Tin; I'KKioi) ()!• coNiLK r. 277 

by all the worUi, and we i-ctiirn auaiii to you, you can 
truly say, as did Cornelia, that we. your sons, ai'e the 
jewels f)f your country. 

And now, fellow soldiers, let us go united in action, 
in sentiment and in heart. Let every effort of our souls 
be directed for our country and our (iod. Let us leave 
determined to teach the Yankees tliat we have inherited 
liberty, and that every dntp of our blood is of and for the 
Soutli, and that, tlio' they have spoken contemjjtuously 
of us and have called our flag the " rebel rag,'' we will 
teach thenl bef<;re we quit the struggle, tliat we intend 
to be as free as the winds that will fan the Stars and 
Bars of our beautifid banner as it waves defiantly on 
the shores of the Mexican (julf." 

A fifth com])any was raised called The Eliza Flinii 
Guards. The names of these are not at hand. This 
company seems to have been in the Tliirty-Eighth regi- 
ment which was organized in 1(S62. W. J. Hearin was 
the first captain, and on his promotion he was succeeded 
by Daniel Lee. 

Two other companies in this regiment are credited 
to Clarke county. Of one G. W. Files, John J. R. 
Jenkins, and Benjamin Anderson were captains ; of 
the other Charles E. Bussey. Also in the Thirty-Second 
two companies; of one Alexander Kilpatrick Captain; 
of the other John W. Bell. 

In the Twenty Second was one company from Clarke, 
.Fames Deas Nott first captain, Joseph R. Cowan tJie 
second. 

For the Thirty- Second Clarke with Wilcox furnished 
a company, John Creagh and George W. Cox captains ; 
and Clarke with Washiiigton furnished one, J. C. Kim- 
bell and S. T. Taylor captains. 

Ten companies, it thus apjjears, were raised in Clarke 
county, and two parts of companies, making of the 



278 CLAKKE AND ITS SURKOUNDINGR. 

volunteer troops from Clarke about eleven hundred men 
going forth to the stern realities of war. 

''KOLL of the DICKINSON GUA.RUS. 

Daniel McLeod, Captain. 

John C. Kimbell, 1st Lieut. 

David E. Thomas, 2d Lieut. 

S. P. Chapman, 3d Lieut. 

F. N. Winn, 1st Ser£r't. 

T. A. WiMHiSH, 2d Serg't. 

Stephen Pugh, 3d Serg't. 

N. W. Calhoun, 4th Serg't. 

J. P. Chapman, 1st Corporal. 

C. W. Calhoun, 2d Corporal. 

W. B. Woods, 3d Corporal. 

Privates — James Anderson, E. B. Brown, P. I. 
Brown, M. P. Brooks, G. W. Brooks, J. P. Booth, N. 
J. Bumpers, B. Brazzell, C. B. Coate, J. A.. Coate, J. 
A. Cammack, A. J. Chapman, N. M. Calhoun, W. W. 
Coleman. D. A. Calhoun, N. Crane, A. G. Coleman, 
C. C. Clarke, R. C. Dickinson, Thomas Day, I. M. 
Daniels, A. Dykes J. W. Edwards, J. W. Evans, J. S. 
Fluker, HenrV Giger, John Gilbert, T. F. Gill, Z. S. 
Gardner, J. W. Gjvnn, J. L. G^inn, T. H. D. High- 
tower, Joseph Hall, S. T. Johnson, T. I. Kimbell, A. 
C. Knight, P. Langly. James McDougald, J. A. Mc- 
Dougald, M. Mathews, J. Maulden, E. H. May, E. J. 
McVey, A. J. McYej, P. H. Mott, F. M. Morgan, J. 
A. More, M. Y. Merchant, J. W. Powers, J. C.'Pugh, 
Alonzo Pugh, W. S. Pugh, Abner Payne, J. P. Posey, 
P. H. Pogue, F. M. Porter, W. S. Porter, Wm. PerrV, 
J. T. Quick, M. Roberts, J. W. Ray, John Roan, t. 
G. Skipworthy, Dougald Stewart, W. H. Sheppard, 
Dr. T. B. Savage, Elijah Truett, G. W. Taylor, E. S. 
Thornton, D. M. Urquhart, J. A. Wimb'ish, J. C. 
Wiggins." 

Soon the Gala Days were over. There came next 

camp-life, sickness, battles, deaths, and imprisonments. 

The following list shows the beginning of these 



THE PERIOD OF CONFLICT. 279 

changes whicli cauuot, for want of the records, be pre- 
sented in full upon these pages. 

"list of grove hill guards. 

List of members of the company from the 6th of 
May, 1861, to Jan. 1st. 1862. 

J. M. Hall, Captain. 

J. M. GoFF, 1st Lieut. 

Charles Pooli:, 2d Lieut. 

T. J. Bettis, 3d Lieut. 

S. T. WooDARD, 1st Serg't. 

A. F. Hall, 2d Serg't. 

G. W. Hudson, 3d Serg't. 

J. Creagh Howze, 4th Serg't, 

J. F. Hudson, 5th Serg't. 

J. W. Fleming, 1st Corporal. 

MiLO Deaton, 2d CorporaL 

C. L. SissoN, 3d Corporal. 

J. W. Daffin, 4th Corporal. 

A. A. Alston, Color Guard. 

I'rimtes — V^. W. Allen, Ed. Allen, A. J. Ander- 
son, J. K. Boutwell, Wm. Boutwell, W. M. Boroughs, 
L. L. Britt, G. W. Bettis, A. Y. Bettis, J. D. Black- 
well, J. L. Clanton, W. H. Champion, Burwell 
Downey, G. W. Davis, W. H. H. Davis, D. M. Drury, 
P. H. Duffv, W. H. Daugherty, J. T. Daughertv, J. 
J. Dean, R. L. Ezell, B C. Foster, H. G. Finley, W. 
R. Gwvnn, J. W. Gilmore, C. Gill, P. J. Green, G. 
B. Hail, W. H. Hall, J. W. Hudson, B. F. Hudson, 
F. M. Hcarper, D. C. Harper, J. M. Harvey, W. W. 
Huggins, J. W. Harvell, J. W. Joiner, W. M. Knight, 
W. H. Kennedy, J. W. Lancaster, J. V. Laffitte, 
J. W. Lee, A. J. Langley, J. B. Maiden, Jesse 
Mosely, T. Mosely, J. C. Mott, N. C. Morgan, W. 
P. Moize, J. B. Nixon, J. B. Nugent, George New- 
ton, A. T. [Noble, S. P. Noble, Hiram Ozbornd, 
W. J. Peeples, N. T. Pitman, Allen Roberts, 
J. A. Stutts, J. C. Stringer, E. W. Simms, Henry 
Sentell, J. A. Spinks, J. G. Spinks, Geo. Steed, G 



280 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

W. Sheppard, J. B. Summers, Caley A. Summers, A. 
J. Sanders, C. Suudblad, J. M. Tucker, G. W. Will- 
iams, R. H. Wade, Morgan Woodard, F. M. Wood- 
ard, W. F. Woodard, T. A. Walker, A. J. Wlieeless, 
J. W. Wimbish, J. J. Wimbisli, Jesse R. Bettis. 

DIED. 

J. F. Blackwell, Richmond, 19th June, typhoid 
fever. 

J. D. Iluggins, Culpepper, C. H., August 3d, con- 
gestion of the lungs. 

P. H. Dumas, in camp. Union Mills, August 7th, 
typhoid pneumonia. 

J. T. Woodard, Charlottesville. August 17. 

W. E. Williams, Culpepper, C. H. July 26. 

R. B. Fleming, Richmond, Nov. 3d, typhoid fever. 

Cohimbus W. Noble, Richmond, November 6th, 
typhoid fever. 

W. J. Sheppard, Richmond, Dec. 13tli. 

Henry Morgan, Richmond, Dec. 2d, pneumonia. 

DISCHARGED. 

J. M. Carter, Pensacola, May 26th, 

T. J. Cowan, " July 1st. 

Wm. Woodard, Union Mills, Ya., Aug. 2d. 

W. F. Fontaine, '' '' 

R. B. Anderson, " 

W. H. Chriswel], '' ''15. 

R. L. Richardson, " '' 

E. R. Wiggins, Charlottesville, '' 29. 

E. H. Bettis, Sangster's X Roads, Sep. 9fh. 

J. O. Trawick, ' " 

B. F. Henderson, '' " 

J. M. Nelson, Culpepper C. H., '' 24. 

W. P. Hall, Richmond, November 6th. 

J. E. Gates, '' '^ 20th. 

Serg. C. H. Gilmore, Union Mills, Nov. 27. 

E. W. Harwell, Camp Walker, Dec. 3d. 

R. A. Smith, Davis Ford, Ya., Dec. 9th. 

Corp. J. Q. Gardner, " " 19th. 



THE PERIOD OF CONFLICT. 281 

The company now niunbers ninety-live men. officers 
and privates.'' 

From the tented field. 

" KKCKl'ITS WANTKI). 

Army of the Potomac, ) 
Fairfax Count^', July 8. \ 
Mr. Grant: Lieut. Brown, of the Talladega Artill- 
ery, leaves tt)-night for Alabama by order of the Secre- 
tary of War, to recruit for the companies of our regi- 
ment. We are required to till up our ranks to 100 
men for each company. I am anxious thai" my recruits 
shall come from Old Clai'ke. as no better fighting ma- 
terial can be found in any part of the State. I under- 
stand there are many anxious to be in the service. If 
so, this offers them some advantages they would not 
be entitled to in any company not in service. — They 
will be received for the remainder of our term, which 
is only 10 months. As Lieut. Brown is ready to start, 
I have no time to give 3^ou further information in refer- 
ence to the service. Those wishing to enter can have 
their way paid by reporting to Lieut. M. J. Brown, 
Montgomerv, Ala. I can take 25 or 3.0 men. 

Yours truly, J. M. HALL." 

EDITOKIAL. 

" J^^^Capt. Xott, of Mobile, was in town a lew 
days since, hunting up a few more recruits for his com- 
pany — one of Col. Deas' regiment. As most of his 
company are Clarke men, we would be glad to see it 
filled up from this County, and would remark that a 
volunteer could not get in a better regiment nor in one 
better provided with everything that a soldier needs. 
They have the Enfield Rifle, also knapsacks, haver- 
sacks, tents, and in fact everything for use or comfort 
in camp. Those wishing to join Capt. Nott's company 
can take the steamer Coquette at Gosport or the Lower 
Peach Tree, on next Saturda}^ night. Their expenses 
will be paid to Montgomery, where an officer will meet 
them from the regiment.'* 



282 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Hospital stores being needed, and supplies of various 
kinds for the volunteer troops, the Grove Hill Mili- 
tary Aid Society was organized in the summer of J 861. 
Of this Society Mrs. E. H. Woodard was Secretaiy. 
From the Official report for September and October the 
following is an extract. 

"Disbursements — .Oct. 12, sent a box to the Grove 
Hill Guards containing sixty pair socks, twenty-five 
blankets, thirteen pair gloves, fourteen flannel shirts, 
sixteen towels, two handkerchiefs, five pair pants, one 
busiit)! dried-peaclies.' 

Thus waMTb- began to be supplied. Probably about 
the same time was also formed The Suggsville Sol- 
dier's Aid Society. 

D. Dafiin was appointed Assistant Adjutant General 
of the 22d Brigade, . and Dr. L. L. Alston Brigade 
Surgeon. 

That a speedy termination of the conflict was not 
expected, the following paragraph will show. 

"As the war in which we are now engaged will 
probably last duving Lincoln's term, and it may be that 
it will continue for 20 years, it behooves us all to econo- 
mize in eveiy way it is possible, both individuals and 
State Governments, and to husband our resources in 
every conceivable way, in order that the old' U. S. 
Government may not be successful in its present policy, 
which seems to be to rely on worrying us out by a 
long protracted war rather than by whipping us in pitch- 
ed battles." 

But hard fought battles came. 

Some of the men of Clarke were in Mississippi, some 
were about Mobile, and some were in Virginia, and did 
their part on many a bloody field. Some survived 
and others fell. But such records belong to a different 
history. 



THE PERIOD OF CONFLICT. 283 

LIST OF CAPTAINS. 

This list may not he perfect, but it has cost some 
i-esearch. 

In the Fifth Alabama Regiment, Clarke represented 
by one company, Josephus Hall, promoted, succeeded 
by Simeon T. Woodard. 

In the Eleventh, John James, killed at second Cold 
Harbor. 

In the Twenty-third. Greene D. McConnel, captured 
at Yicksburg. 

In the Twenty fourth, Daniel McLeod, Thomas I. 
Kimbell. 

In the Thirty-second, Clarke being represent* 
four companies, 

1. John Creagh, resigned, George "W, Cox. 

2. A. Kilpatrick, resigned. 

3. J. C. Kinibell, promoted, S. T. Tayh)r. 

4. John W. Bell, died. 

In the Thirty-eighth, in three companies. 

1. W. J. Hearin, promoted, Daniel Lee. 

2. G. W. Files, resigned, John J. R. Jenkins, re- 
signed, Benjamin Anderson, wounded at Mission Ridge. 

3. Charles E. Bussey, wounded at Chicamauga. 

In the Second, Stephen B. Cleveland, resigned, A. 
R. Lankford. 

In the Twenty-second, James Deas Nott, killed at 
Chicamauga, Joseph R. Cowan, wounded near Marietta. 

According to this list Clarke furnished twenty-two 
captains. Of officers liigher in rank the number has 
not been ascertained. 

During these dark days fervent prayers were offered 
for protection and success. The philosophic skeptic 
might inquire, how sincere and earnest Christians, on 



284 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

different sides of such a mighty conHict, could witli any 
reason or hope expect answers to very different prayers. 
And he of course would declare the whole subject of 
answered prayers a delusion. But the Christian at the 
North during those years, if praying according to in- 
spired instructions, presented his petitions in submis- 
sion to the will of Grod. And the Christians in the 
South, of whom there were multitudes. — only a few 
fanatics claimed that there could be no Christian slave- 
holders, and their opinion had nothing to do with the 
fact — the Christians in the South presented their pe 
tiuMs in the name of the Saviour, when their prayers 
^--;ov earnest and availing, in submission to the same 
Divine Will. A little poem, whether written in the 
South or IS'orth it liiatters not, for in each division of 
the country there were jnst such lovely, earnest, little 
pleaders, — will illustrate this idea of answers to pray- 
ers. It is called ''Claribel's Prayer," and is credited 
to Lynde Palmer. 

" The day with cold, gray feet, clung shivering to the hills. 
While o'er tlie valley still night's rain-fringed curtains fell. 
But waking Blue Eyes smiled, ' 'Tis ever as God wills, 
He knoweth best; and be it rain or shine, 'tis well, 
Praise God,' cried always little Claribel. 

Then sank she on her knees, with eager lifted hands. 
Her rosy lips made haste some dear request to tell ; 
' O Father, smile and save this fairest of all lands. 
And make hevfree, whatever hearts rebel. 
Amen ! Praise God,' cried little Claribel. 

'And Father' — still arose another pleading prayer — 
' O save my brother in the rain of shot and shell, 
Let not the death bolt with its horrid streaming hair, 
Dash light from those sweet ej^es I love so well. — 

But, Father, grant that when the glorious fight is done, 
And up the crim.son sky the shouts of freedom swell, 



TirK PERIOD OF CONFLTOT. 285 

Grant that there be no nobler victor 'neath the sua, 
Than he wliose golden hair I love so well. 
Amen ! Praise God! ' cried little Claribel. 

AVhen gray and dreary day shook hands with grayer night, 

The heavy air was thrilled with clangor of a bell. 

'O shout,' the herald cried, his worn e\'es brimmed with light, 

' 'Tis victory! O what glorious news to tell ! ' 

' FVaise God! He heard my prayer,' cried Claribel. 

' But pray you, soldier, was my brother in the tighi V 
And in the liery rain ? fought he brave and well V " 
' Dear child,' the herald cried, ' there was no braver sight 
Then his young form, so grand mid shot and shell.' 
• Praise God! ' cried tn-mbling little Claribel. 

■ And rides he now with victors' plumes of red. 

While trumpets golden throats his coming .steps foretell ?' 

The herald dropped a tear. ' Dear child,' he softly said, 

'Thy brother evermore with conqnerorx shall dwell.' 

' Praise God! He heard my praj-er,' cried Claribel. 

'With victors wearing crowns and bearing p^////(S,' he said. 

A snow of sudden fear upon the rose lips fell. . . 

' O sweetest herald say my brother /iV " "" ^^"^ ^ '*'' 

' Dear child he wail-s with • -^^.i-" X^^'- ^ 

^ ,..,.+• • aogels who m strength excel. 

Pra...- V..UU wno gave thj^, ^j^^.^^ Claribel.' 

The cold, gray day died ,„^^j^ ^^^ ^^^ 

While bitter mourning (,„ ,, „ „■ i . • i ,\. ,, 

,^, ,.,1, ,, , ,f >n the night winds rose and fell. 
' O child — the herald w,,,^,. lu- „ ti j t 
„ , .1 , . ,, «l>^—tis as the dear Lord wills; 

He knoweth best, and be ^ i;*-^ ^ i ti ,.• 

it life or death 'tis well.' 
'Amen! Praise God! sol, ^ . ,.,., ^,, ., , ,, 
>ed little Claribel. ' 

Another beautiful e;em „f ,.^^f,.„ \ 
,.,,., , . ^. , ^i poetry is so appropriate 

tor this chapter that it is here a..^^,.^ I 

"Two soldiers, lying as they ft., 
Upon the reddened clay — 
In daytime, foes; at night, in peace 
Breathing their lives away! 

Brave hearts had stirred each manly brea.>;t; 
Fate, only, made them foes; 
And lying, dying, side by side, 
A softened feel ins; rose. 



286 CLARKE AND ITS SURJ^OUNOmUS. 

' Our time is short,' one faint voice saiil ; 
' To-day we 've done our best 
On ditlerent sides ; what matters now ? 
To-morrow we shall rest ! 

Life lies behind. I might not care 
For only my own sake ; 
But far away are other hearts, 
That this day's work will break. 

Among New Hampshire's snowy hills. 
There pray for me to-night 
A woman, and a little girl 
With hair like golden light; ' 

And at the thought, broke forth, at last, 
The cry of anguish wild. 
That would not longer be repressed — 
'O God ! my wife, my child !' 

'And,' said the other dying man, 
'Across the Georgia plain, 
Thp"^- watch and wait for me li;ved onea 
I ne'er shall o^^ <ig<.;., . 

A little girl with dark, brigl^^ ^yes, 
Each day waits at the door; ^' 
Her father's step, her father -g j^jgg 
Will never greet her more. 

To-day we sought each othf^^.-g jj^^g . 
Death levels all that now .;' 
For soon before God's j^iiercy-seat 
Together we shallj^^^j^. 

Forgive eacl-'Q^i^^^. ^.jj^ie ^,p j^ay ; 
Life's but j-^ -^^-eary game, 
And, rivj^i or wrong, the morning sun, 
^^^\ and us dead the same.' 

^t, - The dying lips the pardon breathe ; 
T- The dying hands entwine ; 

The last ray fades, and over all 
The stars from heaven shine ; 



THE PERIOD OK CONFLICT. 287 

And the little girl with golden hair, 
And one witli dark eyes bright, 
On Hampshire's hills, and Georgia's plain. 
Were fatherless that niglit." 

How many little girls lost their fathers and brothers 
in that terrible contiict, how much there was, in those 
(lark years, of the variety of the human anguisli at 
which these two poems glance, no one on earth can 
ever know. Must not angels liave looked down with 
astonishment and pity on man thus destroying his fellow- 
man, of the same country and language and kindred 
and blood ! 

Those years are over, and may such never visit 
earth again. 

Illustrating some of the trying events of those years, 
tlie experience of a boy of twelve or thirteen years of 
age may fittingly iiere appear. His home was near the 
center of the county. His mother had anticipated 
the results of the approaching conflict and had advised 
his father to dispose of their colored people. . But the 
father trusted in the final success of the Confederate 
cause. He invested in bonds, and as the months passed 
obtained an abundance of Confederate money. He 
died, leaving one son in the army, some daughters, and 
this boy as the manager of affairs at home. Tidings 
came that the brother was sick with fever in a hospital 
at Mobile, and this boy with an older sister went imme- 
diately down to find tiie sick soldier and bring him 
home. The sister and brother knew not to wliat hospi- 
tal to go. They met an elderly man upon the streets, 
who offered to go with them in the search. While the 
sister and kind stranger stood at the door the brother 
went in to in(iuire for his sick brother. Scarcely notic- 
ing him the officials would tell him no such person as 



288 CLARKE AT^D ITS SIIKKOTJNDINGS. 

lie sought was tliere, and so they went from ])]ace to 
place. At length a young man in one of the hosj)itals 
told him where to go to make inquiries, and they finally 
learned in which hospital their brother was. They 
cared for him day after day, the young brother entering 
the hospital at length unquestioned, and then removed 
the invalid to a boat to go up the river. On board the 
boat the feeble soldier needed some stimulant to keep 
him alive till he could get homeland his young brother 
went to the bar of the boat to procure some spirit of 
some kind in the room of medicine. This tlie bar- 
keeper refused to sell to so young a boy, but he was at 
last persuaded to sell a pint for twenty five dollars; 
and at last they reached their landing and their home. 
With careful nursing the soldier recovered. 

And now we pass to the spring of 1865. Our ener- 
getic, heroic boy was then about thirteen. The Con- 
federacy was breaking up. It was rumored that the 
Yankees were about to pass through Clarke, and, it was 
expected, with "fire and sword." C'ollecting eighteen 
colored men and mounting them and himself on good 
horses this boy took them to the wooded retreats of the 
hills. There they spent the day, while alarm spread all 
around them. No arrangement had been made for food 
in the hurry of the morning's departure, and when night 
began to curtain the hills the white boy, the leader of 
colored band, grew hungry, and with a part of his force 
he determined to visit his home for food. Drawing 
near to the house his quick eyes saw around it camp 
watch fires,but he rode boldly up till halted by a sentinel. 
And the first salutation was, "Have you seen any of the 
Yankees to-day ? " Not accustomed to soldiers, and not 
knowing the diff"erence in color of the two uniforms, the 



THE PERIOD OF CONFLICT. 289 

undaunted hoy replied, to the man in gray before him, 
"No. You are tlie first I have seen." lie did not know 
but the next moment would be his last,but he was hungry 
and there was his home, and he was the only wliite man 
to guard it. But presently the gray uniformed sentinel 
replied, " We are not Yankees.''^ And the surprised 
boy found, quite to his relief for that night, that a party 
of Confederate officers and soldiers, escaped from some 
fort, was seeking safety at his home that night. Provi- 
sions were soon obtained and hunger appeased. 

But how soon the real, live Yankees would come 
none could tell. His mother had some nine jars of 
nice lard. He had that buried in the field and ])lanted 
corn over it. The corn came up and was some two 
feet high before it was considered safe to remove it, 
and he did not believe that even a Yankee coujd find 
that This lard when unearthed was sweet and good. 
Pictures, photographs, jewelry, were buried at and 
around Grove Hill, and some of the latter when 
brought again to the light of day was materially in- 
jured. 

Little actual damage was done in Clarke by the Un- 
ion soldiers. They crossed over at Gosport, burned a 
dwelling house, committed some havoc, but two hund- 
red bales of cotton stored a mile from the river, sixty 
bales belonging to Col. Forwood, escaped their notice. 
This cotton brought a large supply of green-backs when 
the war was over. 



Let us glance at other events of these five years. 

The first session of the West Bend Academy in the 
liew building ojjened September 2, 1861, C. F. F'razer, 
M. A. Principal. Tuition, $.25. to S. 40. Board $.8. per 



290 CLARKE AND ITS SUKROUNDINGS. 

month. E. S. Thornton, President of Board of 
Trustees. 

Pliysicians in 1S61, At Grove Hill, Dr. L. L. Als- 
ton, and Dr. A. Y. Bettis. At Bashi, Dr. J. C. Aber- 
nathy. Dr. B. M. Allen, and Dr. James M. Davis. 

R. H. Bawlings and W. P. Dickinson came to 
Grove Hill as lawyers in 1S60 and left there in 1861. 
O. S. Jewett, lawyer at Gainestown in 1861. 

In June 1861 the Grove Hill Baptist Church was 
organized. 

Officers of Clarke County in 1865. 

Z. L. Bettis, Probate Judge ; Thomas Carter, Sher- 
iff; D. Daffin, Clerk Circuit Court; I. G. McCaskey, 
Tax Assessor ; Cyrus Allen, Tax Collector ; JST. C. 
Booth. County Surveyor ; R. J, Woodard, Treasurer ; 
M. S. Ezell, Coroner. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE TRANSITION PERIOD. 18G5 TO 1875. 

THE Surrender liad taken place ; war was over. Gen- 
eral Robert E. Lee, who with his brave and de- 
termined veterans had held Petersburg ar.d Richmond 
against the forces of General Grant from June 1864 till 
April 1865, after General Sherman had marched from 
Atlanta to the Sea, seeing that it was hopeless for forty 
thousand men to contend longer against an army a full 
hundred thousand strong while Sherman's army was 
also on its way from Savannah toward Richmond, on the 
ninth of April, 1865, at Appomattox Court-IIouse, 
made a surrender of his forces to the army of the Union. 
On the twenty-sixth of April General J. E. Johnston 
suri'endered his troops to General Sherman, at the city 
of Raleigh in North Carolina. When June of that year 
opened, the last Confederate forces, those west of the 
Mississippi, having surrendered to General Candy on 
the twenty-sixth of May, the Civil War was over, and 
the Confederacy itself was ceasing to exist. Released 
from civil and from military duties in Virginia and in 
all other places, citizens of Clarke returned to their vil- 
lage and plantation homes. No special damage had 
been done by gunboats or by raiders within their bor- 
ders; but before them, as before other communities in 
the South, grave questions arose. The necessities of 
their position were apparent. The labor question was 
to be readjusted and renewed self-government, under 
the Congress at Washington, was to be an experiment. 



292 CLAKKK AND ITS StJKROlTNDINGS. 

No one could tell how it would succeed. A civil war 
had long years before changed the condition of the old 
Roman world ; an English civil war, beginning in 1642, 
had led to the beheading of Charles T, and to the Eng- 
lish Commonwealth under Cromwell ; and a French 
civil war and revolution, including a eeign of terror, 
had begun in 1789, which opened the way for the ca- 
reer of Napoleon Bonaparte ending with the battle of 
Waterloo in 1815. But the results of none of these 
noted struggles would enable even sagacious statesmen 
to foresee in what shape and with what results the 
American war would terminate. While the Congress 
at Washington and President Johnson were endeavor- 
ing to steer the ship of state through the dangerous and 
unsounded channel of what was called re-construc- 
tion, — were considering, as that neat writer, the hist 
orian Yenable, expresses it, "how to reconstruct the 
shattered Union, on what terms to restore the late bel- 
ligerent states to their former privileges," — an effort 
. and a question which brought the President and the 
Congress into violent conflict ; the citizens of Clarke 
were quietly returning to their former occupations and 
resuming their old relationships. It soon became 
evident that the Emancipation Proclamation in regard 
to the colored people, which proposed to change their 
relation from slaves to freedmen, must be carried out ; 
and the change in Clarke county was quietly and peace- 
fully effected. The questions in regard to voting and 
office holding and post office and mail facilities were 
all pressing forward for consideration. 

The planting community and the men accustomed 
to public and civil life were entering upon a transition 
period. They were to pass from one form of social and 



THE TRANSITION PERIOD. 293 

civil life to another and quite different form. To do 
so might not be pleasant ; but persons sometimes make 
a virtue out of a necessity. 

The following editorial from the Clarke County 
Democrat will show the view that was taken at Grove 
Hill in 1866 in regard to the first required steps for be- 
coming again citizens of the United States. 

I^^We last week expressed the wish that the peo- 
ple of this county would properly qualifj'^ themselves 
and vote for some good and sensible man to represent 
them in the Conventi(m soon to assemble in the city of 
Montgomer3\ We reiterate that wish this week, and 
call upon every voter in Clarke county who has at 
heart the interests of his country and people, to attend 
to this matter promptly and be at the polls on Thurs- 
day, the 31st of this month — voting as a good and 
loyal citizen, and bowing meekly to the stern decree 
of that fate which, for four long and bloody years, we 
have vainh^ striven to set aside. 

We know that the feeling of hatred toward the 
dominant party of the North — engendered by long 
years of radical and exciting political differences — is 
hard to overcome; we know that the terrible conflicts 
through which we have passed during the last four 
years, will live in the memory of this people for many 
long years to come ; but as the last, dread appeal — 
the appeal to arms — -has been made and resulted 
against us, what can we do but yield to the force of 
circumstances which we have been unable to control ? 
It now becomes us, as a wise people, to look not to the 
past, but to endeavor, for the future, to control events 
for the security of our liappiness and prosperity under 
the laws of our State and Federal (Government. We 
can do this only by voting ourselves and by selecting 
pure and wise men as our law-makers. 

We see no point in the argument of those who ob- 
ject to taking the Amnesty Oath. It is only taking an 



294 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

oatli to do what we have to do, whether we take it or 
not. We have to support the Constitution and hiws of 
tlie United States, even if we do not swear so to do. 
Tlie negro is free wliether we choose to admit the fact 
or not. He is no less free by any of us refusing: to take 
the oath oi" to vote. He is free now b_v niilitarv power 
and will so remain until we see proper to return to the 
Union under a Constitution acknowledging that free- 
dom. He is then free by a law of our own making. 

iM ore than this, without taking the oath we are de- 
barred of the dearest rights of freemen under the Gov- 
ernment. As bv taking the oath and voting — govern- 
ing, as far as possible, our own affairs in our own way, 
we have everything to gain and nothing to lose, we 
liope every good citizen will come up to the standard 
of duty — yield to the stern logic of evejits and make 
the best of the ' situation.' " 

In accordance with these suggestions and holding 
these same views many, at least, of the returned sol- 
diers became again citizens of the whole country. 
Elections were held and civil aifairs were administered 
under the form of state gtn-ernment established by 
Congress. 

The relations of debtor and ci-editor had in the past 
two years been greatly changed, not always in the most 
satisftictory manner. The paper currency issued by the 
Confederacy although not made a legal tender for pri- 
vate debts was generally taken. When this currency 
became abundant, and especially when it began to de- 
preciate, many debts were ]>aid. As early as the fall ot 
1863 it is said that meat in the county was st)ld at four 
dollars a pound, lard at six dollars ; and other things in 
the same proportion. Salt at ninety-tive dollars a sack 
was taken from the salt works and carried to Demopolis. 
A C(tw, worth probably fifteen dollars, was sold by its 



THE TRANSITION PERIOD, 295 

owner and a debt paid amounting to one hundred and 
twenty-seven dollars. During the depreciation the de- 
crease in value was so rapid that merchants could not 
turn over goods fast enough to save themselves from 
loss. A little property or a little labor would not pro- 
cure much real value; but would pay a large debt. 
Merchants were obliged to fail, as debts due to them 
were paid in a currenc}' that became worthless before 
they could pay their own debts. Business men and 
capitalists who had money out at interest were not par- 
ticularly pleased to have their debtors come with large 
bundles of this curiCiicy and propose to take np their 
notes. But it was that or nothing ; and so tlie notes 
were given up with as good a grace as possible. The 
changed relations which thus took place, the loss of 
almost all their possessions by some who had thus far 
in life been wealthy, the debts which never could be 
paid with which some found themselves burdened, and 
the apparent hopelessness for working up again in life 
of those already past middle age, made the social and 
business relations of many, far from being pleasant. 
The depression of spirits was so great with those in this 
period of life, that men of this class died rapidly the first 
few years after the close of the war. It was with them as 
with Bernardo Del Carpio, after the cruel Spanish king 
had presented to him the dead body of his father. They 
could well say, "There is no more to lift the sword for 
now." '' The glory and the loveliness are passed away 
from earth.'' 

An extract from Ramsay's Historj^ of the United 
States in regard to the paper money of the days of the 
Revolution will be instructive in this connection. 



296 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

"The most extensive mischief resulted in the pro- 
gress, and towards the close of the war, from the opera- 
tion of the laws, which made the paper bills a tender in 
the discharge of debts, contracted, payable in gold or 
silver. 

When this measure was first adopted, little or no 
injustice resulted from it ; for, at that time, the paper 
bills were equal, or nearly equal to gold or silver, of the 
same nominal sum. In the progress of the war, when 
depreciation took place, the case was materially altered. 
Laws, which were originally innocent, became eventu- 
ally the occasion of much injustice. 

The aged, who had retired from the scenes of active 
business, to enjoy the fruits of their industry, found 
their substance melting away to a mere pittance, insuffi- 
cient for their support. The widow who lived comforta- 
bly on the bequests of a deceased husband, experienced 
a frustration of all his well-meant tenderness. The laws 
of the country interposed, and compelled her to receive 
a shilling, where a pound was her due. The blooming 
virgin, who had grown up with an unquestionable title 
to a liberal patrimony, was legally stripped of every 
thing, but her personal charms and virtues. The help- 
less orphan, instead of receiving from the hands of 
an executor, a competency to set out in business, was 
obliged to give a final discharge on the payment of six- 
pence in the pound. In many instances, the earnings 
of a long life of care and diligence were, in the space of 
a few years, reduced to a trifling sum. A few persons 
escaped these affecting calamities, by secretly transfer- 
ring their bonds, or by flying from the presence or 
neighborhood of their debtors." 

" Such were the evils which resulted from paper 
money. On the other hand, it was the occasion of good 
to many. It was at all times the poor man's friend. 
While it was current, all kinds of labor very readily 
found their reward. In the first years of the war none 
were idle for want of employment ; and* none were em- 
ployed without having it in their power to obtain ready 



THE TRANSITION PERIOD. 297 

payment for their services. To that class of people, 
whose daily labor was their support, the depreciation 
was no disadvantage. Expending their money as fast 
as they received it, they always procured its full value. 
The reverse was the case with the rich, or those who 
were disposed to hoarding. Xo agrarian law ever had 
a more extensive operation than Continental money. 
That, for which the Gracchi lost their lives in Rome, 
was peaceably eiFected in the United States, by the legal 
tender of these depreciating bills. The poor became 
rich, and the rich became poor. jMoney lenders, and 
they whose circumstances enabled them to give credit, 
were essentially injured." " They who were in debt 
and possessed property of any kind, could easily make 
the latter extinguish the former. Every thing that was 
useful, when brought to market, readily found a pur- 
chaser. A few cattle would pay for a comfortable house; 
and a good horse for an improved plantation. A small 
part of the productions of a farm would discharge the 
long out-standing accounts, due from its owner. The 
dreams of the golden age were realized to the poor man 
and the debtor ; but unfortunately what these gained, 
was just so much taken from others. The evils of depre- 
ciation did not terminate with the war." "The iniquity 
of the laws estranged the minds of many of the citizens 
from the habits and love of justice. The nature of 
obligations was so far changed, that he was reckoned 
the honest man, who, from principle, delayed to pay his 
debts." (Yol. 2, pages 316, 317.) 

Like causes often produce like effects. And the 
planting community of Clarke found perplexities and 
obstacles in their way in endeavoring to secure again 
agricultural and business prosperity. The wealthy had 
become comparatively poor, outstanding debts had been 
paid in a worthless currency, but they had remaining 
their houses, their lands, and their farming implements. 
Cotton was very high for some little tiine after the close 



298 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

of tlie war selling at forty and fift}^ cents a pound ; the 
freednien needed emplovnient in order to gain food; 
and therefore again the planters entei'ed largely upon 
the production of cotton. The price of cotton however 
did not keep up to iifty cents a pound, and as, year by 
year, its value in market decreased, debts again accumu- 
lated. To hire the freedmen and to pay them stated 
wages in money was found in most cases to be ruinous. 
Besides the natural result in a sliding scale of the price 
of cotton, this going lower year by year; tlie field hands 
were now found to be unreliable. Very likely at the most 
important times for vigorous and steady work they would 
take holidays, would hunt, or visit, or be idle, and the 
growing crop would be materially injured by this neg- 
lect of the plantei's' interests. To stop their wages at 
such times had very little eifect, for the}' had already 
present supplies, and they liad not then learned, and 
they have scarcely yet leariied,to provide for the future. 
It was found needful, after the experience of a few years, 
either to cease hiring these freedmen, or to give them 
a share in what was raised instead of any stated wages. 
And even in this way it was found to be difficidt to in- 
duce them to perform good, regular, and reliable labor. 
The many difficulties that arose, in the adjustment of 
this labor question during this transition period, were 
entirely out of the range of experience of the farming 
community on the great prairies of the West. Some 
experience was gained year by j'ear, and it may be con- 
sidered that now an era of more profitable and more 
regular labor has commenced. 

It was said that the change of relation from slaves 
to freedmen was quietly and peacefully effected in this 
county in 1865. The colored people remained, for the 



TIIK TRANSITION PEKIOD. 299 

most part, on the plantations and at their ohl homes as 
usual and worked regularly till the close of that year. 
And when the usual Christmas holiday came they went 
out, many of them never to return. At some homes 
they would leave in the night, to avoid any si)ecial 
painful sensations. Some however would leave in the 
day time, apparently in order to make an impression 
on the white family. Some made arrangements im- 
mediately at their old homes to work the coming year. 
Some sought new places. Some went from their old 
owners sorrowfully ; and some refused to go at all. 

The breaking up of the old relations at the close of 
this year was a trying time for the white families: The 
mothers and daughters were ignorant of the art of 
cooking, and it became an important question, Who 
could get the first breakfast ? Dinners also were 
wanted and suppers ; and who could and would go to 
the kitchen and cook? In one family the youngest 
daughter was about eight years of age, and the father 
asked her if she did not know how to cook. She said 
she had seen their former cook do woi-k in the kitchen 
and she could try. So the little girl went to the 
kitchen, and to the meal barrel, and to the smoke 
house, and from place to place, and at length prepared 
a breakfast. And after she succeeded the ftither sug- 
gested that the older ones should try. At length 
mother and daughters all learned to cook. Then 
clothes were to be washed and general housework 
needed to be done. That it was hard and sad work 
at first may well be su])posed. Some however with 
light hearts and cheerful spirits soon learned to wash 
and iron, to sweep and dust, to bake and fry, and to 
carry on all the household work. Unfortunately for 



800 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

these new liands at doinestic duties, they did not know 
the easier, lig'hter, and hibor saving* ways in which 
their Northern sisters brought about the desired re- 
sults ; but could only follow the old ways in which the 
colored women had performed household work. These 
home labors therefore required much time and no little 
strength ; and the transition period was abundantly 
hard on the women and girls who had never been 
accustomed to do their own work. But womanly ener- 
gy and courage and tact proved equal to the necessities 
of the situation ; and then began to work steadily up 
those who were of the middle class, who had never 
been minibered among the "poor whites" in the old 
times, and who had not been aniong the most wealthy. 
In general, neither class of the two extremes of society 
could adapt themselves to the demands of the new 
circumstances ; but the large middle class, accustomed 
to some effort, and possessing more energy and phj'si- 
cal endurance, pressed bravely and nobly onward amid 
their trying circumstances. Exceptions of course there 
are. but, for the most part, these constitute the promin- 
ent, prospering, useful, influential families of the pres- 
ent. In the circumstances it could not well be other- 
wise. 

The Grange movement which swept over the coun- 
try in 18Y3 and 1874 was an element of help in this 
transition time. It connected the farmers of the South 
with those of the North. It stimulated efforts for im- 
provement in modes of agricultural work. It brought 
women into social organizations along with men. It 
aided in ennobling labor, in setting forth the teaching, 
so prevalent and popular in the West, that labor is 
HONORABLE. While it did not lead to so much improve- 



THE TRANSITION PERIOD. 30] 

iDt'iit iti the use of agricultural implements as it might 
have done, it led to an increase of information on that 
subject and to an improvement in the varieties of hogs 
and sheep. 

This period witnessed a marked change in the 
vehicles used 'in the county. The old family carriages 
were not replaced by new ones after the war. The car- 
riage roads, worked so carefully in the spring and in 
the fall, were very much out of repair when in 1865 
the war worn veterans returned. Travelling was again 
resumed, mostly on horseback. Plantation wagons 
drawn by oxen (»r mules were again used ; but soon 
lighter ones were introduced made after the style of 
Northern horse wagons, and then one horse buggies 
came into use here and there, and at length two horse 
buggies with two seats, and little one horse wagons, 
and also top buggies. In 1874 there seemed to be few 
vehicles in the county, but now light wagons and bug- 
gies are quite abundant. And the time cannot be far 
distant when again elegant fauiil}' carriages, like those 
used in the cities of the land, will pass from home to 
home and from place to place over the smooth, and 
again well-worked, carriage roads of Clarke. 

During the war the wheel and the loom had been 
running busily by the hands of the trained house ser- 
vants, and now, in tliis period, white hands took hold 
of thread and shuttle and spun and wove and made 
garments. The women of Clarke, and doubtless else- 
where in the cotton belt, certainly deserve much credit 
for the earnest, resolute, and successful wa}' in which 
they took hold of the various household duties, amid 
the many discouraging circumstances around them. 

And many of these mothers and daughters not only 



30 '2 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

attended to home and household aftairs, but went into 
the cotton tiekis to aid the fathers and sons in raising 
and gathering that product wliich was so needful in 
supplying home comforts. While the labo)- question 
was seeking some favoi-able solution, beautiful white 
girls, unaccustomed to manual labor, took into their 
hands the heavy hoes of the plantations and performed, 
day after day, heavy field labor wliich had formerly 
been done by the colored women and girls. They also 
learned to pick the cotton with the hot sun shining 
full upon them. Cheerfully and with womanly energy 
and love they for years performed this heavy and 
toilsome work, that their fathers might have the means 
for paying debts and obtaining comforts. These reso- 
lute and loving hearts are now deservedly held among 
the honored treasures of Clarke. 

Ten years of struggle and eflbrt soon passed away, 
and when the centennial year of the nation came many 
experiments in new^ modes of living had proved to be 
successful. This period of transition from slave labor 
to free labor has proved, however indolent and thrift- 
less the colored people may have been, that the white 
race, the American Anglo Saxon, can raise cotton suc- 
cessfully in South Alabama, can raise sugar cane and 
make excellent molasses, can perform household labor 
and field labor, and have as good health and as strong 
constitutions as in the older days of constant leisure. 

Two obituary notices of 1868 are inserted here as 
showing the tinge which the dark years of the war 
gave in this period to this class of writing. 

The first is dated Tallahatta, May 11 1868. The 
name of the writer is unknown. 



THE TRANSITION PERIOD. 308 

Departed this life on the 5th ult., at AVest Bend, 
Alabama, of Typhoid Pneninonia, Mrs. Elizabeth F. 
Pace, aged 52 3'ears, 2 months and 26 days. 

The sickle of Death has again visited our country, 
and bereft us of one of our dearest earthly treasures ; 
and whilst we lament lier loss, we can only offer here 
to her niemory the last tribute of respect. 

Mrs. Pace possessed many affable traits of charac- 
ter. Kind in all the relations of life, she was ever 
ready to offer a balm of consolation to the afflicted or 
to succor those in distress. She was a kind mother, 
an obliging neighbor, and a devoted Christian — for 
many years a consistent member of the Baptist Church 
at Ulconush. During her illness she talked of her 
future destiny with a hope that buoj^s up the lone pil- 
grim about to be launched <nit into the unknown sea of 
eternity — "that bourne from whence no traveller re- 
tui-ns." She said the Grim Monster, Death, had no 
terrors for her, but dreaded the thought of being sepa- 
rated from her dear children and loved ones. 

Mrs. Pace had many trials to encounter here on 
earth. But a year or two jJi'e^ions to that unjust and 
cruel war which drenched in blood our once happy 
counrty, she lost a husband and a son ; and but a short 
time afterwards, she was called upon to mourn the 
death of her youngest boy, who had fallen defending 
the most sacred rights that belong to freemen. 

In her last moments, when her earthl}' tabernacle 
was dissolving, she talked with her loved ones of her 
approaching dissolution, and said she had bright hopes 
beyond this vale of tears. Son, daughters, relatives, 
friends, weep not for her, but be faithful followers of 
that meek and lowly Jesus of Nazareth, and you will 
one day meet her where there will be no separation ; 
where you will hear no more of wars, and "where sick- 
ness, sorrow, pain and death are felt and feared no 
more." 

The second bears date July 23, 1868. It is prob- 
ablv an editorial notice. 



304 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. ] 

DEATH OF DR. NEAL SMITH. 

Anotlier one of our oldest citizens lias fallen. Dr. 
Neal Smith died, at his residence, near Gainestown, 
this county, about two weeks ago, in the 85th year of 
his age. 

He removed to this county, from North Carolina, 
between fifty-live and sixty years ago. He was a 
prominent physician in the early history of this county, 
and for a number of years did most of its practice. On 
one occasion he skilfully removed a ball from the body 
of the brave and i-enowned Sam Dale. 

Dr. Smith was a prominent and inlluential member 
of the old Whig part}', and, for a number (jf years 
ably and faithfully represented the people of this county 
in the Legislature of the State. 

In the memorable Presidential contest of 1860, Dr. 
Smith sided with the friends of Douglas and Johnson. 
He was one of the most ardent lovei'S of the American 
Union and Constitution we ever knew ; and the fire of 
indignation would burn in the eyes of the old patriot, 
as he would speak of the usurpations of the Radical 
Congress, and their refusal to restore the Union and 
their efforts to add to and take from that good old Con- 
stitution under which he had lived so long and so hap- 
pily. We regret that the aged patriot could not have 
lived to see a better day for his country — to see a re- 
turn to law and order, and a Congress in the American 
Capitol with some regard for Constitutional obligations, 
for political honesty and decency. 

But he has left us forever, and we can only remem- 
ber and endeavor to imitate his virtues, and throw the 
mantle of forgetfulness over his faults whatever they 
may have been. How solemn it is to see breaking, 
one by one, the links of the chain which connect ns 
with the early settlers — the dear old pioneers of our 
county. Soon they will all be gone I 

Only a few weeks ago, Mrs. A. Pugh, living near 
this place, was gathered to her fathers, in the 90th year 
of her age. 



THE TIJANSITION PERIOD. 805 

'■'riiiH sl;n- liy slar dcclinos, 
"Till all liiiNc pasM'd away." 

That the dark war cloud which bui-st in such a 
fearful storm over the land should leave shadows, after 
the sun has again commenced to shine and the rainbow 
of promise has spanned the heavens, is by no means 
strange. We of this generation, however bright may 
become around us tlie beams of a renewed sunshine of 
prosperity, must carry with us to our graves some sad 
and dark remembrances. 
20 



CHAPTER XIIl. 

FAMIi.Y RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 

THE general reader who has followed thus far these 
records, glancing at Indians and Spaniards, at 
French and British, at Refugees and early Settlers, who 
in years past claimed to be occupants of this soil ; and 
who has passed over these brief accounts, for one dec- 
ade after another, of the establishment and growth 
here of Anglo-Saxon- American enterprise and culture, 
during a hundred years ; will surely not object to find 
in this and the two following chapters more full details 
and more minute particulars concerning many of the 
families who have aided largely in planting so firmly 
here the rich blessings of a Christian civilization. And 
althouo'h mere lists of names mav not be of interest to 
him, he may perchance find, interwoven with these 
names, a sufficient amount of incident and of trne 
human life, to repay him for examining these three 
chapters, and to interest him while so doing ; especially 
if he has adopted as his own that old sentiment so ap- 
plauded once in a classic land, which may be thus ren- 
dered : 1 esteem nothing pertaining to hiL^nanity a 
matter of indifference to me. 

But the local reader, the one who reads these accounts 
in the very localities which have been rendered memo- 
rable for long years to come, by hardships and sufter- 
ings, by heroic deeds of border and warrior men, will 
certainly be glad to find as full a record, as a limited 
space will allow,- of the various families who have made, 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 307 

ffir fi^enerations, their homes within these borders. 
American local liistories, in this centennial era, are 
quite incomplete, witliout the presence of these genea- 
logies which secure to future generations ancestral names 
and relationships. 

Both classes of readers will find here, intermingled, 
names of those known and honored throughout the 
state of Alabama, and those known only in their own 
county and their own community. 

And the local reader may miss some names which 
he might properly expect to see upon these pages, in 
some of these chapters. In regard to any such omission, 
the author can only say ; that he could not insert names 
or records which he could not obtain, that he saw as 
many members of the different families of Clarke as he 
could in person, and that he gave a public request 
through the one publication of the county, the Clarke 
County Democrat, for any names and facts, not in his 
possession, to be sent to him. Intentionally he has 
slighted none ; without doubt he has unavoidably omit- 
ted some. No one person living could place in these 
three chapters the names of all those that different ones 
might think were entitled to a place in these memorials. 
The author claims, in this respect, to have done the 
best, which in the circumstances, he could do; and to 
have do7ie the best here, he hopes will be considered, 
at least, to have done well. 

There were reasons why an alphabetical order in 
family names was not in these chapters desirable, and 
for the order which has been adopted no reasons need 
be assigned. 



808 CLARKE AND ITS 8UKROUNDINGS. 



Hardy Flukek, an early settler, came from South 
Carolina. He had ten children, four born in South 
Carolina and six in Clarke county. The family home 
was near Clarksville. The sons were Cleorge, Will- 
iam, Edgar, and Hardy. The daughters were Susan- 
nah, Elizabeth, Sarah, Sophia, Seebell, and Fi-ances 

William Fluke u is still living. He married Mar- 
garet Cam mack. 

Edgar Fluker married Mary Daston. 

Hardy Fluker married Ann Talbert, daughtei- of 
Elder J. Talbert of Wilcox. 

Miss Susannah was married to William Gil more, 
who also lived near Clarksville. 

Miss Elizabeth was married to Thomas B. Pace of 
West Bend. 

Miss Sarah married John W. Thornton, also of 
West Bend. 

Miss Sophia married William Scruggs, residing near 
the same locality. 

Miss Seebelle married John R. Cox. 

Miss Frances ulaughter by a second inarriage, her 
father having married Mrs. Scruggs) married Jesse P. 
Chapman. 

Mrs. Thornton, Mrs. Cox, and Mrs. Chapman, are 
still living. 

The head of this large family, a family connected 
with so many other prominent families in the county, 
died about 1860 ; and one son only, so far as known, 
is now liviniT. 



FAMILY RKCORDS AND SKKTCHKS. 'M)9 

I'UGII. 

In 1811 tliere came froiii Georgia a soldier of the 
devolution, Eli.iah Pugii, whose ancestors came from 
that noted principalit}' of Wales, and were fellow- 
countrymen of Christmas Evans. He had at least four 
brothers. Three of these. John, William, and Alex- 
ander, went to Ohio, and afterward Alexander Pugh 
went to Indiana and settled near Indianapolis, where 
liis descendants are still supposed to be living. 

Elijah Pugh had four sons who came also from 
(^eorgia to Clarke count}' ; Isaac, Rezin, Jesse, and 
Stephen. He had three daughters, Miriam, who mar- 
ried Isaac Jackson, Aohsah. who man-ied Amos Kob- 
inson and alter his death Giles Chapman, and Alvfra, 
who married Joseph Hall. Elijah Pugh died in .lune 
1824, being sixty-three years of age. 

PoBKRT PiToif, a fourth brother of Elijah Pugh, 
came also from Georgia in 1811 and settled in the same 
neighborhood. He had three sons, Eli.iah, Kinmak. 
and Meredith, and four daughtei-s, Betsey, who be 
came Mrs. Smith and removed to Texas, Olive, who 
became Mrs. Johnson and i-einoved to Texas, ISTanoy, 
who became Mrs. Macon, and Martha, who married 
P. Jones. 

The following dates from an old family Bible mav 
pi'operly be inserted here. Elijah Pugh was born in 
1760. His wife, Ruth Julina, was born in 176;^. 
\yilliam Baskin was born in January 1768. His wife, 
Isabell Corvin, was born in September 1768. Isaac 
l^lgh, born in 1785, son of Elijah and Ruth, married 
Hannali Baskin, l)orn in ^~U:^. 

Jesse Pickens Pugh, born in 1829, married S. 
Melissa Bettis in 185.S. 



310 CLARKE AND ITS SURKOUNDINGS. 

Isaac Pugii, was married to liamiiili Baskin in 1809, 
and with his young wife he came in 1810, before his 
father, to tlie Indian wilds. He died in 1839. He had 
five sons, William B., E. Stewart, John M., Stephen, 
and J. Pickens, and one daughter, Rebecca. Miss Re- 
becca Pugh married John Dunbar who removed to 
Texas. 

The descendants of Isaac Pugh are quite numerous. 

William B. Pltgh has eight children. 

E. Stewart Pugh has four daughters and three 
sons. 

John M. Pugu has live children living. 

Stephen Pugh has six sons and one daughter. Ilis 
wife was Miss Gil more. 

J. Pickens Pugh has nine sons and daughters. 
Two of the daughters. Miss Mary and Miss Fredonia, 
are lovely girls, just entering womanhood. '"^ 

Rezin Pugh also married in Georgia. He had four 
sons, Isaac, Alvin, Jack R. , and Elijah ; and three 
daughters. 

Jesse Pugh married Miss Betsey Robinson. They 
removed to Louisiana about 1838. He had five sons, 
William, Aaron, Isaac, John, and Stephen, and four 
daughters. 

Stephen Pugh, the fourth son of Elijah Pugh, never 
married. He learned the trade of a gun-smith. He 
is yet living about four miles from Grove Hill, now, in 
1877, seventy-one years of age. He is still active, 
attends to his plantation, and is an intelligent, worthy 
citizen. 

The names of the descendants of the three sons of 
Robert Pugh are not at hand for this record ; but they 

♦ Now both are inanii'd, 1882. 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 811 

witli those already named comprise many large fami- 
lies, who are residing in the same neighborhood where 
their ancestors settled, a few miles west of Gi'ove Hill, 
and constitute, together with the Chapman families, a 
large and prosperous community. They are indus- 
trious, intelligent, and enterprising, and are an excel- 
lent class of the citizens of this county. 

CHAPMAN. 

Joseph Chapman was born in Newbury, South Caro- 
lina, came, with his wife, in early life into Clarke county, 
settled near Grove Hill, had a large family of children, 
and died in 1S58 at the ripe age of eighty-one years. 
His daughters were Elizabeth, who married Robert 
May of Sumter county ; Eleanor, who married Silas 
Mott, of Lauderdale, Mississippi; IST ancy, who married 
George Fluker of Coffeville; Mary, who married Colo- 
nel James Savage of Grove Hill; Sallie, who married 
George Dunbar of Washington county ; and Amelia, 
who married E. Stewart Pugh. One son, Joseph, died 
in youth. 

Elijah Chapman, a brother of Joseph Chapman 
named above, and also of William Chapman, came to 
Clarke after the war of 1813. 

He had four sons, Joshua, Giles, John, and Frank; 
and four daughters, Pollj^, Celia, Nancy, and Elizabeth. 

Miss Polly became Mrs. Cox and wen-t to Louisiana. 
Miss Celia became Mrs. Daniels. Miss Nancy also 
became Mrs. Cox, marrying a cousin of her sister's 
husband. Both of these with their husbands, also 
removed to Louisiana, where Mrs. Nancy Cox is now 
living, Miss Elizabeth became Mrs. Smith and went 
to Louisiana and afterwards to Texas. 



312 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Giles Chapman had three sons, Elijah P., Jesse P., 
and Stephen ; and two daughters, Rebecca and Ruth. 
Miss Ruth became Mrs. McLeod. Miss Rehecca mar- 
ried William Bettis. 

Elijah P. Ciiai'man married Miss Eliza Jane Pogue. 
They now reside at the Alston place near Grove Hill. 

Rev. Jesse P. Chapman married Miss Frances Flu- 
ker. He is now a Methodist minister and resides live 
miles west of Grove Hill. He has a son, Gkoss S. 
Chapman, a very promising young man, a medical 
student at Mobile.* He has also two sons and four 
daughters. 

John Chapman, a brother of Giles Chapman, had also 
three sons, Amos, who died in the Confederate army, 
Elijah, who married Miss Carrie Stewart, and David 
Augustine. He had eight daughters. Miss Matilda 
married Henry Waite, Miss Achsah married George 
Ford, Miss Elisabeth married David Dawson, Miss 
Sophia married J. Dewitt, Miss Celia married William 
Calhoun, Miss Cornelia married Keal Calhoun, Miss 
Ruth Adelia died at Summerfield, and Miss Amelia 
was married to Rev. J. S. Calhoun in December ot 

Two of these daughters. Miss Sophia and Miss Celia, 
were pupils at the Grove Hill Academy in 1852. Mrs. 
Celia Calhoun had one daughter, Miss Willie, who in 
later years was also one of Mrs. Woodard's pupils. + 

All of these eight sisters and three brothers were 
living in 1866, three only of whom now remain, with 
their children, to represent this branch of the Chapman 
family. 

* Having graduateil in the spring of 1870, Dr. G. S. C'liapnian is n<iNv arf.-ident 
physician at (Trove Hill. 

+ In December, 187S, Miss Willie Calhoun was married to Willie Tuinpkii:>. 



FAMILY IJKCOIJDS AND SKETCHES. 'MS 

David A. Chapman, one of these three brothers, 
began business lite as a clerk in one of the stores at 
Grrove Hill. He was reliable and successful. He 
is now carrying on the plantation. He was married 
December 19th to Miss Marietta H., generally known 
as Miss Lillie, ^yoodard. They have a pleasant resi- 
dence on the old St. Stephen's road, a short distance 
from Grove Hill. They are both members of the 
Grove Hill Baptist church. 

Mrs. Elijah Chapman, the grandmother of David 
A. Chapman, rode from Grove Hill to Soutli Carolina, 
alon'e, on horseback, in 1828 or 1829, to visit her rela- 
tives there, whom she had not seen for many 3'ears. 
When near her home "■ she met her brother on the ferry 
boat at night, and they recognized each other '' after the 
changes of the many years. Some resolution was need- 
ed, even in 1828, to make that journey on horseback 
and alone. Tradition has not preserved the various 
incidents of the journey. Our grandmothers could do 
what onr daughters will never undei'take. 

William Chapman was the third of these South 
Carolina brothers. He had two daughters and one son. 
His son, John Chapman, resides in Choctaw county. 

nokle. 

Stephen JS^oble, from Virginia, removed to Tennes- 
see, and. remaining in that state for a few years, started 
southward to find a new situation. He reached 
Demopolis in 1817, the 3'ear in which Jesse Williams 
erected there the first log-cabin. Some four cabins were 
built there in that year. Here, for a few months this 
explorer stopped ; but in the fall, and in 1818, French 
settlers came, and these American pioneers retired. S. 



Hl4 CLARKE AjSTD ITS 8URK0UXDINGS. 

Noble went furtlier southward and entering Clarke, 
settled, in 1818, witli two sons Daniel and Joseph, on 
Big Satilpa. After one crop was made, in the fall of 
the same year, the family came in wagons, through the 
Choctaw Indian Nation, finding rough roads, and being 
on the way twenty-five days. They brought with them 
a drove of three hundred hogs and a flock of about 
seventy-five sheep. They found cattle already, in 
Clarke, in abundance, McGrew alone having about 
one thousand head. The northern part of the county 
was then covered with cane which aftorded excellent 
pasturage. Deer, and bears, and wolves, elsewhere 
mentioned, and also catamounts, called panthers, found 
hiding places in the tall cane. One of the panthers 
killed by this family measured nine feet from the tip of 
the nose to the end of the tail.* The bears and the 
yellow and black wolves were destructive to their hogs. 
Small parties of Choctaws came at this period into the 
county to hunt, and would load their ponies with veni- 
son and deer-skins when they returned. Some of these 
Choctaws could talk broken English. The Indians, 
and also the American settlers, cut the bee-trees in the 
woods and obtained wild honey. 

Stephen Noble had six sons ; Rial, Daniel, Joseph, 
Robert, Samuel, and S. Pinckney, and four daughters ; 
Martha, who was married to Moses Peyton; Emily, 
who married W. Easley, Elizabeth, married to M. 
Dean, and Jane, who was married to M. Pugh. 

Two of the sons. Rial and Joseph Noble, went to 
the Creek or Seminole war in the company of Captain 

* A river pantlicr was killed in Sumter county as late as 1857 which measured 
seven feet in length and weighed one hundred and ten pounds. And in 1880 a large 
panther was killed near Jackson, and another was seen later in the winter a few 
miles north, in Clarke countv. The race is not vet extinct. 



FAMILY KKCORDS AND SKETCHES. 315 

B. Foster. Robert and Samuel Noble married sisters 
of Colonel James Savage of Grove Hill. Four of this 
family, so far as known, are now living. S. Noble 
died at an advanced age about twenty years ago. 

Daniel Noble, who came into the county with his 
father in 1818, was born in ]800. He is now living in 
Tallahatta, not far from the Webb mill, confined to his 
room by lameness, but sociable, cheerful, and enjoy- 
ing a good use of his mental faculties. He remembers 
among others in that neighborhood, in 1817 and 1818, 
Josiah Wells, Benjamin De Loach, W. Webb, John 
Loftin, the Butledge and Cox families. Cotton was 
then raised, and corn, and sweet potatoes. 

For the cotton a market was then found at St. 
Stephens, where also some families obtained their sup- 
plies. Others sent to Mobile. The mode of transporta- 
tion was then by barges. These were propelled up the 
stream by long spiked poles, also by poles armed with 
hooks. By means of the hooks the bargemen would 
lay hold of the trees growing on the banks and so pull 
the boat up the current. It required a week and some- 
times more for a barge to be propelled from Mobile to 
CofFeeville. These barges ascended the river as far as 
Tuskaloosa. They were from forty to fifty feet in 
length. The first steamboat which D. Noble remem- 
bers was called the Cotton Plant. He thinks it came 
up the river about 1821. He was a passenger on this 
boat from St. Stephens to CofFeeville. Among the 
recollections of his youth are also the appearance of 
Tuskaloosa as he came by it in 1817, when it contained 
a few board huts and log-cabins ; a store at CofFeeville 
in 1818 ; a mill near Clarkesville ; and the noted 
" bear thicket " elsewhere menti<med. Sometimes, in 



316 (LARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

his experience, the bears would not leave the thicket ; 
and then the hunters were obliged to penetrate the 
dense foliage on foot to find eight or ten dogs bay- 
ing bruin, the dogs sometimes getting crippled, and 
sometimes one or two being killed. This bear thicket, 
evidently the same as the one mentioned by Squire 
Doyle, was near Satilpa Creek and on the fork formed 
by the union of Patt's Creek with Wells Creek. 

The first gin in this neighborhood, according to 
these same recollections, was owned by Josiah Wells. 
The bales were at first packed by hand, through a hole 
in the floor, below and around which the sacking was 
suspended. They were packed with a pestle having a 
sharp point. The bales were round and weighed not 
more than three hundred pounds. Screws were soon 
built and presses which packed rectangular, sometimes 
called square bales. Bagging and rope began to be 
used. The latter has now given place to iron hoops. 

Tlie present home of this aged and enfeebled, but 
intelligent and hospitable man, is in a pleasant locality 
near the residence of Dr. A. Y. Bettis, the present 
owner of the Webb mill which was built about 1836. -^ 

Some of the early settlers near the mountain and 
north of it were the Gilmore, Crenshaw, Miller, and 
McClinton families. These came together in 1819. 

James McClinton's family numbered eleven mem- 
bers. Of these one son remains, James E. McCLiNTO>r, 
living at the north base of the mountain, a member of 
the Forest Spring Baptist church. Some of the C'ren- 
shaw family are still living in the same neighborhood 
and are members of the same church. 

By the road-side, west of the Bashi bridge, (which 

• Daniel Xohle died Dee. ii, 18T9. 



B'AMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 317 

is itself just west of the union of Baslii and Tallaliatta 
creeks, near the line between sections seven and eight, 
in township eleven range one east, ) and not far from 
the post oak tree which now marks the spot of the fall 
of Colonel McCxrew in the Baslii skirmish, are the 
chimney earth mounds which mark the spot where 
stood the Edwards home, the home of the settler who 
married one of the Griffin widows. At a short distance 
from this spot are the graves, unprotected, unmarked, 
of those who there fell in that skirmish. 

William Webb was an early settler, coming into 
the county about 1812. He died at his home in Clarke 
February 14, 1853. when about seventy-eight years of 
age. 

Drury Allen, Senior, removing from Edgefield 
district. South Carolina, became a resident near 
Clarksville in 1811 or 1812. He came with his wife 
and five children ; three sons, Josiah, Henry, and 
Drury Junior, and two daughters, I^ancy and Barbara. 
They came with two pack horses, bringing goods also 
in a rolling hogshead, along the pathway through the 
Indian tribes. They soon removed south of Suggsville 
and found safety in Fort Madison during the Indian 
troubles. The father, Drury Allen, was in the expedi- 
tion led by Captain Dale, connected with the Canoe 
Fight. Mrs. Allen, who was Miss Margaret Waite, 
died in 1818 ; and in 1820 Miss Fannie Webb, a sister 
of Mrs. William Coate, became Mrs. Allen. Five 
other children were now added to the family, as the 
years passed along, Bettie. Turner, Susan, Sarah, and 
Wade Hampton. 

Drury Allen, Junior, born May 20, 1807, was six 
years of age when his fathers family sought safety in 



318 CLAKKE ANDIT^ SU KKOINPTNGS. 

the forts. His recollectiou is that Fort Ghiss was built 
by the settlers, and that the soldiers, who afterward 
came, built Fort Madison. He remembers thirty or 
forty tents of families at these forts. 

He settled, in ISoO, near Choctaw Corner, about 
three miles on the road toward Claiborne, where he 
still resides. He has had live sons and four daughters. 
Some of these are now in Texas, and two married 
daughters are living in Xorth Alabama. One of his 
daughters became the second wife of John Creighton, 
and is living near her father's with a large family of 
children. 

Henry Allen was twelve years of age when the 
family were m Fort Madison. He says that Mrs. Mer- 
rill, who was scalped by the Indians and recovered, 
was blind for a long time. When she came to Fort 
Madison with her child, both of whom were severe suf- 
ferers, he helped to minister to their comfort. 

In 1826 he married Miss Sarah Latham, and settled 
on Bassett's Creek near Salem. They had eight 
children : William, who at length married Miss Mar- 
garet Montgomery. Makgaret, who married William 
Champion, Sarah, who married Robert Xettles, Mirim 
or Miriam, who married Jackson Hall, Amanda, who 
married William McAddin. Mart An*x, who married 
John JBrown, Martin Tan, who married Miss Emily 
Southall, and John Calhofn, who died at Richmond, 
Virginia, in the Confederate army. Mrs. Allen, the 
mother of the eight above named, died in 1S55. H. 
Allen married again in 1860, and lost his second wife 
by death in 1873. Born in 1801, he is now seventy-six 
vears of age, and resides in Mississippi, coming occa- 



FAMILY RFX'OKD- AND .SKK'K JiHS. 319 

feionallj to visit liis daughter, Mrs. Nettles, at Grove 
Hill. He is still an active and an intelligent man. 

No records are at hand concerning the other children 
of Drury Allen Senior ; but his descendants in Clarke 
and elsewhere are not likely soon to become extinct. 
Some of his great-grandchildren are now very active, 
energetic, promising boys : and through the girls of 
this line njany families have been woven together. 

Henry \A'aite Senior, a brother of Mrs. Drury 
Allen, was also, probably, quite an early settler. His 
son, AV. Hexky F. Waite, now a merchant living be- 
tween Grove Hill and Jackson, married Miss Matilda 
Chapman, oldest daughter of John Chapman. After 
her death he married Miss Rebecca McLeod. He has 
three or more daughters and three sons. He is a very 
pleasant, amiable, upright man, of excellent business 
capabilities, and is rapidly accumulating property.* 

Robert Nettles, who married Miss Sarah Allen, 
resides in Grove Hill. They have one son and one 
daughter. The daughter, Miss Allie Nettles, was 
married about three years ago to "Willie Dalfin. 

Henry Atchison, from Georgia, settled near Old 
St. Stephens in 1805. A grandson is now living in 
Clarke, in the western part of the county. 

Stephen Bishop was an old settler on Bassett's 
Creek. The Bishop family records have not been 
received. 

MuRREL Stinson of North Carolina, stopping for a 
short time in Georgia, came in 1810, on the usual line 
of migration through the Creek nation, to the Alabama 

• In I'iTO W. H. F. Waite became confined to the bonse witb dieeaee in one of 
hie limbs. In December of that year he sent two of his sons. Willie and Marnard. 
to Cr>wn Point Indiana, where they remained one year : and not long after their 
return their father died. 



320 CLARKK AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

locality between the rivers. He settled at first on 
James Creek and afterwards lived on Fishers Creek. 
He was a member of the Horeb chnrch, but a few years 
after the constitution of that church, in about 1838, he 
removed with his family into Mississippi near where is 
now Meridian, and carried the name, Mt. Horeb, to the 
church that was organized there. 

John Stixsox. a son of the above named earl}' citizen 
of Clarke, was born on James Creek in 1825, and when 
about eight years of age left Clarke with his father and 
became a citizen of Mississippi. He is still living near 
Meridian, having a good plantation where he raises 
fruits, stock, some grain, and is giving attention to the 
growth of various grasses. He is an excellent Christian 
citizen, a member of the Mt. Horeb church, retaining 
many recollections of liis Alabama home. He has five 
sons and one daughter, and a very pleasant home. 

R. A. Odom was for many years a well known citi- 
zen of Clarke. He was engaged for about eighteen 
months in superintending the count}' salt works on the 
Tombigbee river. Twenty -three hundred families were 
supplied with salt by the county through his agency. 
He now resides with his family near Grenada in 
Mississippi. 

BETTIS. 

Moody Bettis came from Edgefield district. South 
Carolina, about 1818. He had three sons. Z. L. Bettis, 
M. S. Bettis, and Jesse E.. Bettis. 

Judge Z. L. Bettis married Miss Elisabeth Talbert, 
a sister of Elder Jack Talbert. They have had several 
children. One of the daughters was married co J. 
Pickens Pugh. Z. L. Bettis was elected Probate Judp"'^ 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 321 

in May 1850. He has of late given considerable atten- 
tion to mill-building. 

Matthew S. Bettis, a member of the Grove Hill 
Academy, and also of the school at Rockville in 1853, 
was a young man of sterling qualities and of more than 
ordinary promise. Engaging in the Confederate ser- 
vice, he was, with many others from Clarke, a prisoner 
of war at Rock Island, in Illinois, and there amid the 
privations, suifering, and sickness of prison life, his 
earthly course terminated. His teacher, at Grove Hill 
and at Rockville, who thought so highly of him, and 
who knew so well his manly qualities, mourned, with 
his Southern kindred, his untimely death. 

It seems very sad now, as we look back through 
fifteen years that have passed, to think of the fearful 
destruction of human life on those fields of fierce con- 
flict and in those dreadful prison enclosui-es. 

Jesse R. Bettis was a student at tlie Grove Hill 
Academy in 1852. He married a daughter of Colonol 
Stutts and has quite a family of interesting children 
growing up around him. He is six feet and four inches 
in height. He was a soldier in the Virginia army, and 
was in the different actions where victory was always 
expected and usually gained. In his company were forty 
men over six feet in height. These formed a part of those 
dauntless sons of the South whom the Army of the 
Potomac under General McClellan found it so dangerous 
to meet. The actions at Bull Run and Ball's Bluff; the 
battles of Fredericksburg, of Chancellors ville, of the 
Wilderness and Spottsylvania, of Petersburg, and of 
Manassas, were proofs of their prowess. But at Gettys- 
burg, they met the bronzed veterans of many a fiercely 
contested field under the leadership of General Meade; 
21 



522 CLARKE AXD ITS SUEEOUNDrN'GS. 

tliej met the liardj sous of the West, trained like them- 
selves to bear arms from their youth; and the conflict 
of Jul}' 1st and 2d and 3d, the greatest battle and the 
turning point of the Civil War, caused mourning in 
many a home both in the South and in the West. 

J. R. Bettis is now residing on a plantation near Dr. 
A. Y. Bettis. He is a member of the Elam Baptist 
church and a choice friend. As a citizen soldier, accus- 
tomed for years to stern conflicts in one of the boldest 
and most resolute armies that the world has known, he 
finds pleasant occupation in the pursuits of peace and 
has no longing to hear again the clangor of arms. 

Dr. Alfred Y. Bettis, a son of Judge Bettis, 
graduated at the University of Louisiana at New Orleans 
in March, 1861. He married Miss Carrie Woodard of 
Grove Hill and was for some years a resident physician 
in that place. He now resides not far from Tallahatta 
Springs. He has about one thousand acres of land, on 
which is an excellent mill seat and a mill with two sets of 
stones for grinding corn and one saw for cutting the large 
pines into lumber. He carries on his plantation work, 
keeps his mills running, and attends to his professional ' 
duties. He raised good cotton this year on land clear- 
ed in 1823 and under cultivation for most of the time 
ever since. 

His plantation was formerly known as the Webb 
place. He is intelligent, progressive, resolute; a fine 
example of the enterprising, energetic young men of 
this generation, who are rapidly building up a new 
growth in the South. He has a comfortable, well fur- 
nished home, in which an intelligent and noble wife and 
mother presides; and in which are growing up two, now 
little, lovely girls, Edna and Daisy, and some sturdy 



rA:\lILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 323 

boYS. Dr. Bettis and liis wife are both Baptist church 
nienibers. 

Sucli as these, in the prime of life, with resolute 
wills, with earnest souls, are well fitted to achieve that 
success in social and in financial life which is now invit- 
ing the eiforts of the new generation, in the still fruit- 
ful climate and on the yet fertile soil of Clarke. 

Matthew G. Bettis, another son of Judge Bettis, an 
energetic young man, superintendent of a Sabbath 
school southeast of Grove Hill in 1874, soon after mar- 
ried Miss Ellen Thomas, a grand-daughter of Eev. R, 
M. Thomas, a fine appearing and very promising 3'oung 
lady, and then removed to Texas. While missed in 
their old homes, such energetic and devoted young 
Christian workers will surely be useful members of 
society in that great state where they have sought a 
new home.^ 

M. DouGHTKY or Doughtry, from North Carolina, in 
1829 settled in Marengo county, six and a half miles west 
of Union Town, which then contained one house and 
was called Woodville, after the -name of three brothers 
residing there. When a post office was desired at that 
little village, it was ascertained that there was another 
Woodville in Alabama, and so the name was changed 
to Union Town. This was about 1834. 

In January, of 1838, M. Daughtry removed into 
Clarke, finding six miles east of Choctaw Corner, some 
good land that would produce a bale of cotton to the 
acre. Most of the good unoccupied land at that time 
was in the hands of speculators. Around the planta- 
tion here opened, south of east from the Corner, and 
near the county line, the surrounding region in Clarke 

* Jespe R. Bettis and Dr. Bettis huve also lately removed to Texao, 



324 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

and Wilcox appeared, then, like a wilderness. But 
other settlers came in rapidly after 1838, 

According to the recollection of this industrious 
and enterprising settler, Choctaw Corner was called 
Mott's Post Office, (Stephen Hearson, postmaster,) un- 
til after 1840. 

To supply these settlements droves of hogs were 
driven from Tennessee and Kentucky; sometimes eigh- 
teen hundred in a drove. Such a drove stopped for the 
night near M, Daughtry's home. Hogs are no longer 
driven such distances, the demand being supplied by 
smoked meat or bacon, transported by water and rail ; 
but Tennessee and Kentucky mules and horses still 
travel across the country to the southern limits of 
Clarke. 

This aged North Carolinian, in a comfortable home, 
with the evidences of thrift around him, successful in 
raising good crops, is now spending an apparently 
cheerful and pleasant old age, possessing a fair amount 
of health and vigor, enjoying home comforts, a family, 
and friends.* 

A. Deaton was an old settler near Choctaw Corner. 
He had a large family of sons and daughters. He died 
in 1876, being fourscore years of age. He gave instruc- 
tions before his death that no nails or screws should be 
used in the lid of the coffin in which he was buried. 
The lid was to be keyed on. 

Joseph Heaex was another of these early settlers. 
Of one, whose name is not here given, it is reported, 
that while pre-emption laws were in force, he moved 

* In November, 1877, I called in at the home above mentioned and spent a 
pleasant hour. The next tidings which I receive is the following published notice 
in Feb. 1878. " Died very suddenly in this county * * M. Doughtry, an old and 
good citizen, at an advanced age." T. H. B. 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 325 

thirteen times in a single year. The crop which he 
raised that year has not been stated. 

Robert Bumpers became a citizen of Clarke in 1818. 
He died in November, 1861, seventy-two years of age. 
fie was a class leader in the Methodist Church for many 
years. It is said of him that during forty years he did 
not omit having family prayer night and morning. 

J. R. Bumpers was a merchant in Grove Hill in 1856 
and also sheriff. 

Captain Daniel Lee lives near Gosport. He is re- 
puted to be one of the wealthy men of the county of 
the present generation. 

Major Josiah Jones lives seven miles east of Jack- 
son. He is an active member of the Mt. Gilead church, 
an intelligent man, and a stanch Baptist. 



II. 

David Byrd, Senior, removed to Clarke from War- 
ren county, Tennessee, in company with Levi Mead- 
ows, in 1834. They came through in wagons drawn by 
horses.— The days of rolling hogsheads were now 
over — . They found cattle plenty here then ; but 
hogs were rather scarce, or seemed scarce to these 
Tennesseans. D. Byrd had twelve children. Two 
only of these died in youth. No one of the twelve had 
a middle or double name. 

John Iijgram and famil}^, also from Tennessee, 
came in 1836. D. Byrd died in 1837. When these 
families settled in the north of the county they found 
game still abundant, especially bears, deer, and wild 
turkeys ; also large black wolves were nuraerons and 
huge rattlesnakes. These they sometimes found seven 



326 CLAEKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

feet in length. One of these families reports eleven 
killed in one year. 

David Byed, Junior, came with his father from 
Tennessee. In 1836 he went with a company of eighty- 
five mounted men, G. AT. Creagh captain, to the war 
against the Seminoles. He returned in safety from 
this expedition against the Indians. He afterward 
made his home near Choctaw Corner, carried on con- 
siderable business, running mills, farming, loaning his 
accumulations instead of investing in plantation hands, 
and was known as an enterprising, industrious, thriv- 
ing citizen. He married Miss Xancy A. Creighton 
about twenty years ago. He gives considerable atten- 
tion to fruit raising and has one of the best apple 
orchards in the county. He is an active member of the 
New Hope Baptist church, and one of its deacons. 
One of his brothers is now residing in California. The 
location of other members of the Byrd family is not 
known. Others are probably yet living. David Byrd 
is the representative of a once large family. His as- 
sociations and kindred have been for nian}^ years more 
fully M-ith the members of the great Baptist family. At 
his quiet home the visitor will find a cordial welcome ; 
and, in their seasons, will be regaled with a variety of 
fruits, pears, figs, scuppernongs, peaches, and apples. 
The traveller from Grove Hill to Choctaw Corner will 
be well repaid for calling at this home, by learning 
what a little care and intelligent efibrt will do in pro- 
moting the culture of some rare varieties of apples, 
such apples as one does not expect to see near fig trees 
and orange groves. 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 327 

DAVIS. 

Parson Davis came from Xorth Carolina to Ala- 
1)ama in 1836. He came into Clarke in 1851 and en 
gaged in the lucrative business of getting out spar tim- 
ber for market. He now resides at Choctaw Corner, 
owning mills and a plantation. He is a very intelligent 
man and an uncompromising Baptist, a member of the 
New Hope church. He cleared a farm among the 
lime hills, where beech and poplar abounded. He 
made from two poplar trees a quarter of mile of worm 
rail fence. This fence was about ten rails high. 
Fences are often made in the county twelve and thirteen 
rails high. One of these trees was four feet in diame- 
ter at the eighth cut, more than eighty feet from the 
stump. Some poplars are now growing near Choc- 
taw Corner that will make fifteen hundred rails each. 
The axes used for cutting these trees have long 
handles. Some hickory trees in the same locality are 
about four feet in diameter. Some of the poplars are 
without a limb for eighty or ninety feet, and measure 
across the stump when cut six or seven feet. Although 
not competing at all with the trees of the Pacific coast, 
these are certainly, for the Atlantic and Gulf States, 
large trees. 

Greene Davis, a brother of the one named above, 
also resides near Choctaw Corner. He is, like his 
brother, a staunch, zealous Baptist, a member of IS^ew 
Hope church. Both are now quite aged men. They 
have served their day and generation well. 

Thomas Carter was born December 27, 1805, and 
spent most of his life in and around Grove Hill. He 
is well known in the countv. having held the office of 



8^28 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

sherili" several j^ears. He lias had a large family, his 
children numbering in all twenty-five. Many of his 
sons and daughters are now living, and are variously 
connected by marriage with numerous other families. 
No list of the names of this large household is at 
hand.* 

One of the sons is a prominent member of Amity 
Baptist church. His is a pleasant and a hospitable 
home. 

FIGURES. 

Major Thomas Figures was married in 1807, in 
Tennessee, to Miss Elizabeth W. Colraan of Elbert 
county, Georgia, then residing in Tennessee. In 1810 
he came with his wife to Alabama. Their home was 
at Coffee ville, where they both lived to a good old age. 
Mrs. Figures died February 14, 1860, in the seventy- 
fourth year of her age. She was an affectionate mother 
and a pious woman. "Mrs. Figures lived to see a 
large family of children arrive at the age of maturity 
and to draw around her a large circle of friends, who 
appreciated her many noble qualities." Her hus- 
band, Major Figures, then quite infirm, did not long 
survive his faithful "wife of youth," with whom he' 
had traveled life's pathways for some three and fifty 
years. Comparatively few pass the limit of the golden 

"WEDDING. 

John W . Figures carried on for many years a dry 
goods' store at Coffeeville. He w^as an exception to 
most public and business men of Clarke. He seldom 
attended church. He was understood to hold that he 

* T. Carter diet! at his home in Grove Hill, June 4, 1879, and his remains were 
deposited in the family cemetery which is two and a half miles north of Grove 
Hill. 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 329 

thereby avoided moral responsibility. He also died 
February 14, 1868. 

James T. Figures, editor of the Grove Hill Herald, 
who died of yellow fever in 1853, his aged parents then 
both living at Coffee ville, has been mentioned in a 
former chapter, and some record of his short life was 
there made. One of his brothers was "W^illiam B. Fig- 
ures, who went to Huntsville, Alabama, and there for 
many years was proprietor of the Huntsville Advo- 
cate. Whether he still lives, and whether he still con- 
tinues the business of a publisher, may not here be 
recorded. Not a few young men have gone forth from 
Clarke, whose life work belongs to some other portion 
of our common country. 

One other son of Major Figures, who lived to be 
over eighty years of age, was Charles Figures, con- 
cerning whom no records are at hand. 

The four brothers just named had several sisters, the 
oldest of whom married James Thornton, and the sec- 
ond Malcom McCorquodale. 

Colonel Robert Sij^gleton resided not far from 
Salt Mountain. In 1853 seven families formed a neigh- 
borhood in that upper part of the Fork. The Baptist 
church here and the school both bore the name of 
Rockville. 

Colonel Singleton was a very friendly, generous, 
and hospitable man, and his family home was the abode 
of prosperity, plenty, cheerfulness, and love.* It 
contained two daughters, Margaret and Harriet, young 
girls in 1854. A few years after this date Colonel 
Singleton removed to Texas in company with Dr. 

* In December of 1854 the author of this work, when recovering from sickness, 
found with this family a most delightful home, accompanying the hunters in the 
"drive."' and feasting on venison and wild ducks. 



830 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Bridges, whose ftimily was one of tlie seven in this 
neighborhood. The daughters named above are mar- 
ried, and it is understood that all the family are yet liv- 
ing. Such families are an addition to the social force 
■of any community. 

Matthew Bettis came from South Carolina to 
Clarke iu 1817. He had four sons none of whom are 
living. A grandson, James Bettis, lives near Suggs- 
ville. He had also four daughtei's, one only of whom 
is living, Mrs. Pajme.'-^ 

Colonel Robert C. Payne, removed from Sumter 
county into Clarke in January, 1853. He purchased 
two river jjlantations, one near Hal's Lake, and the 
other in the Sun Flower Bend. He brought from Sum- 
ter about seventy colored people. He was a man of 
strong mind, energetic and persevering, an active mem- 
ber of a Baptist church, and prominent in social life. 

He lived but a short time in this county dying May 
3d 1856. He was born May 3d 1801. He came from 
South Carolina when about sixteen years of age, lived 
eighteen years in Conecuh, where he commenced active 
life as a merchant, eighteen years in Sumter, where he 
accumulated property, and three ^^ears in Clarke, where 
he closed his busy life. He had two sons ; the older 
one died in boyhood, being accidentally killed; the 
•other, Frank T. Payne, a member of the Rockville 
-Academj^ in 1853 and 1854, but who spent his Satur- 
days with his father on the plantations instead of hunt- 
ing, boating, and swimming with the Austills and their 
teacher, is now one of the solid men of Clarke. He 
sold the Sun Flower Bend to some of their colored peo- 
ple, but carries on himself the Oven Bluif plantation. 

* Mrs. Payne died January 20th, 1878. 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 331 

He lias two sons, Frank and Travis, and one daughter, 
bright and intelligent eliildren. He has been for a 
few years an active member of the new Rockville Bap- 
tist church, and interested in Sunday-school work. He 
has an excellent river plautatioii, and understands well 
the business of a cotton planter. Beginning life with 
the results before him of his father's diligent accumu- 
lations, and with that part of his accumulation which 
was left by the war, instead of squandering this as do 
so many sons of the wealthy, he is going on, in the 
possession of competency, along the road to honorable 
wealth. Such citizens are a benefit to the community 
where they live. 

Mrs. Payne, his mother, was a very worthy, intelli- 
gent, and kind-hearted. Christian woman. 

Mrs. Nichols, a daughter of Samuel Cobb, and now 
a widow, having married a cousin of Frank Payne, re- 
sides at the Rockville home of the Payne family. She 
has a family of pleasant and interesting children. The 
oldest daughter, now a young lady, has been attending 
the Judson Institute at Marion. Thrift, business enter- 
prise in plantation life, and industry and energy, charac- 
terize the inmates of this home. Such qualities lead to 
success. The older members of this family are members 
of the Rockville Baptist church and all engage in Sun- 
day-school work. 

"rock castle." 

This romantic place, situated in the Fork, a few 
miles south and probably east from Major AustilTs or 
from Salt Mountain, was the home of the Davis 
family. 

Mrs. Davis was left a widow with one son and five 



332 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

daughters. One of the daughters taught a family 
school. Tlie family were intelligent and cultiv^ated. . 
Melvina married Dr. Kilpatrick ; Louisa, Dr. Lewis 
Harris ;* Agnes, Dr. Oliver Hood ; and Emma and 
May were married to brothers by the name of Carter 
in Mobile. The son, now Dr. Henky Davis, is a prac- 
ticing physician at Gainestown. 

The family home, called Rock Castle, was probably 
in the southern part of township five, range two east, 
and not far from section twenty-six. In that township 
are maiiy hills and rocks, and a rough surface. 

In January, ISTtt, sixteen hundred and thirty-eight 
acres of land were advertised for sale, b}^ G. Y. Good- 
loe as administrator of the estate of Henry G. Davis, 
deceased, in the description of which it is said : " The 
residence, known as 'Rock Castle,' is a beautiful 
place, consisting of a large, conveniently arranged and 
comfortable Sand-Stone house, containing nineteen 
rooms, and closets," and other appurtenances. The 
woodland "is well timbered and covered with cane." 
It appears from this advertisement, which has come to 
hand some weeks after the above was written, that the 
residence was on either section thirty-five or section 
thirty-six of township five and range two east, so that 
the conjecture given above is within about half a 
mile of the exact locality. 

DOYLE. 

Jesse Doyle, from Darlington District, South Caro- 
Jina, settled near Clarksville in 1816. (This village, 
although the center of an early settled neighborhood 

* Lewis W. Harris of Mobile and Miss Louisa Ann Davis, daughter of Henry 
G. Davis, vyere married at " Rock Castle " on the ninth of November, 1856. 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 333 

and the first county seat, never became a large place. 
It contained two stores and two public houses. J. Mott 
and H. Dode sold goods there in 1826.) Two years 
after the settlement of the family upon those table 
lands, in 1818, a son was born. 

B. S. Doyle. He now resides in Mitcham's beat, 
in township ten, range one east, and on section twenty- 
four, and has spent his life surrounded by an abundance 
of wild game. It was quite natural that he should be- 
come a skillful hunter. Some of his exploits, and items 
from his knowledge, are here given as examples of a 
generation of planters of leisure now passing away. 
He has had quite an experience in regard to wolves, 
bears, beavers, deer, and wild turkeys ; and also has 
known something of foxes and panthers or wild cats. 
He has shot fourteen large bucks at seven stands with 
a double-barrel gun. In still hunting with a rifle he 
has on two special hunting days shot five deer each 
day. He has shot three wild-turkeys at one discharge 
with a rifle. These wild-turkeys grow to be very large. 
Some when dressed have been known to weigh twenty- 
flve pounds. One deer, supposed to be the largest in 
the county, was said to weigh two hundred and fifty 
pounds. It was killed near "the Eocks." Another 
deer weighed one hundred and sixty pounds. In one 
camp hunt of four days twenty-three deer were killed. 
Squire Doyle and a neighbor, W. J. Clanton, shot in 
one year ninety-three deer, and made during the season 
good crops. One shot oftener than the other but 
missed oftener. They were both good hunters and on 
the whole obtained nearly equal quantities of game. 

In 1847 occurred a noted bear hunt. There were 
twenty-eight men, among them prominent planters re- 



334 CLARKE AND ITS SUKROUNDINGS. 

siding between Clarkesville and Coifeeville, and twen- 
tj'-nine dogs. These surrounded what was known as 
" the bear thicket," a thicket of dense and tangled under- 
brush, covering about one hundred acres, and formed by 
the union of Wells witli a neighboring creek. A large 
bear was soon started from his covert, and shot after no 
very lengthy chase. 

Squire Doyle shot, probably, the last large yellow 
wolf in that part of the county, while on a deer drive 
with men from Choctaw Corner, in 1854. 

The beaver is not an animal to engage the attention 
of hunters. But with all their sagacity these animals 
sometimes meet with accidents. Squire Doyle reports 
one found by John Coate which was killed by a tree 
the beaver had cut down. The tree slid off the stump 
the wrong way and struck the poor unfortunate beaver 
on his head. They cut down trees a foot in diameter, 
cutting or gnawing entirely around the tree and at 
length reaching the center. AVhen swimming they 
beat the water with their broad, flat tails. 

In 1863 this hunter and planter gained a little ex- 
perience in fishing. He used three "trot" lines, two 
of them one hundred and twenty and the other being 
sixty yards in length. Three hundred hooks, with 
very short lines attached, were strung on these long- 
and strong lines, about three feet apart. Sometimes 
one hundred and fifty pounds would be taken from 
these lines in a single morning. In two days enough 
were caught to fill a barrel. They were principally 
buifalo and cat-fish, the former sometimes weighing 
from twenty-five to thirty pounds. These fish were 
taken from the Tombigbee river and were sold to men 
engaged in the salt works. The bufialo brought thirty 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 335 

cents and the cat-fish forty cents a pound. The cur- 
rency in 1863, it may be remembered, was not gold and 
silver. 

Squire Doyle has three sons and four daughters. 
He is a very sociable, hospitable, communicative man, 
and has a pleasant family. 

James A. Doyle has been connected with the print- 
ing department at Grove Hill, more or less, for about 
thirty years. He was in the office of the Southern 
Recorder, afterward was for some years a printer in the 
Herald office, edited Doyle's Dime which appeared 
" semi-occasionally "" and was a humorous, sprightly lit- 
tle sheet, and has worked in the Democrat offxce. He- 
is a good compositor, and has a genial, sociable nature. 
He has spent some time in other portions of the South^ 
but has again returned to Clarke, perhaps to remain. 
He has since the war been engaged in teaching as well 
as in setting type. He has no near relatives in the 
county. 

J. RoBixsoN, living near Bassett's Creek, some four 
miles from Grove Hill, is quite a hunter. He thinks, 
the wild cats in the swamps and coverts are about as 
abundant as ever. He has killed some -ten this year. 
The catamounts are now scarce. He thinks a few 
wolves yet remain in the wilder parts of the county. 
He has killed this year about one hundred raccoons. 

Robert Mosely, another of these hunters, not now- 
living, when deer were plenty a few years ago, shot 
seventy-three in one year. (Of the members and pres- 
ent rej)resentatives of the McTfeely family, althouuh an 
old family, facts for record have not been obtained.) 

The fox hunters still capture quite a large number of 
these crafty animals each year. 



386 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

If their skins, and the fur of the beaver and other 
animals here, only equalled in value the clothing of 
animals bearing the same name around the Great Lakes, 
this would certainly be an attractive resort for hunters 
and trappers. 

IsHAM KiMBELL, witli whose name the reader of these 
pages has become somevsrhat familiar, was born in Korth 
Carolina, March 31st, 179Y. His father's family removed 
to South Carojina, and, probably in 1807, removed to 
the Tombigbee settlement, on the west side of the river, 
near McGrew's reserve. In the fall of 1812 they re- 
moved to a plantation on Bassett's Creek, not far from 
the home of Sinquefield. The tragedy enacted there in 
1813 has already been related. His father died at Fort 
Madison. I. Kimbell, then a youth of sixteen, left thus 
alone in the world, received the care of his father's friend, 
Robert R. Harwell, and was placed as a clerk in a store 
at Pine Level, now Jackson. A brother living at 
Augusta, Georgia, then sent for him, with whom he re- 
mained until 1819. Returning then to Jackson, he was 
married in 1821 to Miss Martha T. Carney, daughter of 
Josiali Carney, from North Carolina. In the year 1833 
he became clerk of the Circuit Court of Clarke county. 
He held that office for twenty successive years, and 
finally resigned in 1849. He was also post-master and 
Registrar in Chancery. During his official life he resided 
near Grove Hill. He has been for many years past an 
inhabitant of Jackson. Commencing with nothing he 
accumulated property amounting in value to forty thou- 
sand dollars. He has ffad a large family of sons and 
daughters. He is now nearly eighty-one years old. 

Mrs. Martha T. Kimbell, wife of Isham Kimbell 
Esquire, was the daughter of John and Sarah Carney, 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 337 

was born in Kortli Carolina in 1797, December 26th, 
and came with her parents to tlie river settlement, about 
1812. 

She died at Jackson, June 2d 1853. She was a 
member of the Methodist church. It is said of her, that 
''she appeared to have a humble obedient confidence in 
the Scriptures that did not admit doubt." " Her faith 
seemed implicit." She was "a devoted wife, parent, 
Christian, and friend." The day before her death she 
gave impressive admonitions to her husband, her child- 
ren, her friends, aiid her servants. 

James Cathell was born in Maryland, was married 
to Miss Vaugh of Delaware, and died in Georgia. Mrs. 
Cathell, with four sons and four daughters, came into 
this region in 1812. Two of the sons went against the 
Indians in 1813. Their mother dreaded to have them 
go. She said that she had lost two brothers in the Revo- 
lutionary War, and she was sure her sons would fall in 
the conflict. And they did fall in the fearful massacre 
at Fort Minis. Mrs. Cathell having been in a fort, in 
her girlhood, in the war above named, dreaded fort life. 
Her family therefore, and some ten or twelve other 
families, crossed the river and went west, out of reach 
of the Creeks, where they camped. When the danger 
was over they returned. Mrs. Cathell and her cliildren 
settled about two or three miles from Jackson, and one 
of her daughters Miss Jane, was soon after married to 
Captain William R. Parker. She now resides with 
her son, a well known citizen and a late officer of 
the county, Seth Parker. 

Mrs. Parker, formerly Miss Cathell, has had seven 
children who all grew up. Five are now living. She 
herself will be eighty-three years of age in April 1878. 
22 



;^38 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

She has been a Baptist church member more than thirty 
years. She has good use of her faculties, is intelligent 
and sprightly in mind, apparently cheerful and happy. 
Her eyes are rather dim but her hearing is good." 

Benjamin McClukp:, a brother of James and Robert 
McClure, married Mary Ann Woodard, sister of C. E. 
Woodard, whose daughter, Miss McGlure, married and 
was the mother of Rev. Robert A. Gilbert, now an 
enterprising and prosperous citizen of Grove Hill. 

There were four brothers named Bumpers, Robert, 
Nathan, John, and a fourth whose son was named 
Robert. Three of the sons of the last named Robert 
Bumpers, are now living near Tatilaba Creek in the 
western part of the county. 

Dr. T. J. Prim resides north of Jackson near the 
river. He was formerly county commissioner. He is 
an active Baptist member and very sociable, fond of 
conversing with his friends, intelligent and a practicing 
physician. 

Isaac Painter came into Clarke about 1812. He 
formerly lived near Choctaw Corner but now resides 
west of the river. He is a dealer in cattle and sheep. 
He is about eighty years of age, and is still hale and 
active. 

Captain James De Witt is another of these early 
residents. His home was north of Jackson. He was 
a brother of Rev. L. L. De Witt, and the father of 
Rev. R. J. W. De Witt. The above name has usu- 
ally been written Dewitt, and pronounced with the ac- 
cent on the first syllable. 

John Ulmer and John Olds became about the same 
time citizens at old Clarkesville. 

*Mrs. Parker died May 12, 1879, quite suddenly, falling "lifeless to the floor 
from the chair in which she was sitting.'' 



FAMILY KKCORDS AND SKETCHES. 330 

Dr. Rainky aftervviird came to Clarke, settling on 
tlie old St. Stephens road. These families as well as 
many others have gone westward. 

It will be observed here, that of several who are 
named on these pages, and who were also among the 
prominent citizens of Clarke, very scanty records are all 
that have been obtained. Several of these families 
have now no representatives in the county. In their 
distant homes they may be assured that they have at 
least not been forgotten. 

Hkxky Shambkrcier and Wii.ijam Shambkrgek 
were two brothers of Dutch descent from Xorth Carolina 
who were early settlers on James Creek. They had 
several sisters who married into ])rominent families. 
These families were well off and influential. They at 
length removed westward to a newer region. 

John Bishop, Stephkx Bishop, and Reuben Bishop 
were three brothei-s, also early settlers. Stephen 
Bishop was quite wealthy. 

John Smith, from Xorth Carolina, settled in 1810, 
probably on Bassetts Creek, but soon removed to the 
neighborhood of the Pugh settlement west of the pres- 
ent Grove Hill. His daughter, who was in Fort 
Sinquefield and probably in Landruin's Fort, became 
Mrs. Ford and was the mother of David Ford, T. J. 
Ford, George Ford, James Ford, and John P\)rd, so 
well known in the county. A tax receipt signed by 
Samuel Dale, dated in 1817, was, in 1877, in the hands 
of T. J. Ford, preserved probably among papers con- 
nected with his grandfather's estate. As Monroe 
county was constituted in 1815, and as General Dale 
was the first or second tax collector of that county, it 



340 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

would seem that John Smith was at the date of 1817 
living on the east side of the Choctaw line. 

HICKS. 

JosiAH R. liicKS came from North Carolina in 1827. 
Bishop Hicks, his brother, came in 1836. Anderson 
Hicks came in 1832. He soon died. 

Bishop Hicks, who is still living east of Bassetts 
Creek, was born in 1798. His sons were Joseph, 
James, Benjamin, Thaddens, Samuel, and Henry. His 
daughters were Mary who married Jonas Benson, 
Julia who married James Haskew, and Martha who 
married Keal Kennedy. Also Miss Allie, Miss Bettie, 
and Miss Emma. J. R. Hicks died in 1830. 

Miss Louisa Hicks lives with Rev. Jesse P. Chap- 
man. 

J. OscAK Hicks, a son of J. R. Hicks, was born in 
1822. He bought the -'White-House'' in 1856, and 
sold it about 1859. It was then in good condition. 
He sold to Judge Calhoun, of Dallas county, together 
with seventeen hundred acres of land at five dollars an 
acre. (On this land a son, Andrew P. Calhoun, set- 
tled; other sons, Frank and ,Iohn Calhoun sharing in 
it. Some of this land now belongs to colored people. 
The rest is not in good condition.) J. C. Hicks in 
1853 and 1854 was engaged in getting out spar timber. 
He cut one stick ninety-six feet in length, thirty-four 
inches in diameter. In about one year his hands 
cleared nine hundred dollars each. 

He has live sons. Dr. Lamartine O. Hicks of Jack- 
son, J. W. Hicks of Peach Tree, a merchant, Raleigh 
O., David P., and Albert H. He has three daugh- 
ters. Miss IsADORE, Miss Annie, and Miss Cassandra. 



FA^riLY RECORDS AND SKKTCIIES. '^»41 

David Hicks, a brotlie:- of J. (). Micks of Clarke, 
lives ill Wilcox coiiiitv near Lower Peach Tree. 

James II. C'urtis married ]\Iiss Jones, a sister of 
the wife of Josiah R. Ilicks, and of the wife of Solomon 
W. Portis. He settled in Clarke in 1825, He has two 
sons, both now in Wilcox, Dr. C. Cl'ktis and Ri^sn 
Curtis. 

KELLKV. 

Jonx Kellev was an early settler near Jackson. 
He and his wife were in McGrews Fort. At one time, 
when there was an alarm, it is said that all the inmates 
there retreated to Jackson in perfect silence. J. Kelley 
was six feet, two and a lialf inches in height. His 
brother, Jesse Kelley, weighed three hundred and 
sixty-five pounds. They came from Georgia. The 
family moved to Wilcox county after the war of 1812, 
settling east of Choctaw Corner in Dr. Southall's neigh- 
borhood. Here P. Kelley was born in 1820. Spend- 
ing liere his youth he at length went into Clarke and 
secured the land, except the state reservation, of the 
upper salt region. Here he still resides in township 
seven, range one east, on section fifteen. He is quite 
a hunter. With one dog he caught of wild cats and 
beaver, sixty-eight of the one and sixty-nine of the 
r)ther. From the hill top near his home is a fine 
birds-eye view of Old St. Stephens and Xe.v St. Ste- 
phens, which are in about the same direction, and, 
southeasterly, of Jackson. He considers his land to 
be rich in mineral resources and does not wish to dis- 
pose of it. He rented to salt makers during the war, 
and after work closed at the salt wells he hauled to the 
mouth of Jackson's Creek one hundred and thirteen 



342 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

tons of old iron. There cm be little doubt that some 
day his tract of land will be valuable. 
He is very sociable and hospitable. 



III. 

William A. Morriss, who married Miss Nancy 
Hearin, a sister of Major W. .1. llearin of Mobile, was 
for many 3'ears one of the prominent citizens of Clarke. 
He had two sons, Thomas D. Morriss and John E. 
Morriss, whose name will be found elsewhere in this 
volume. 

Miss Martha Morriss married James B. Mobley. 
Her sister married Robert Ezell of Suggsville. 

William Mohlky was an early resident at Suggs- 
ville, a brother of Colonel JVrobley. His sons are Dr. 
Mobley and J. B. Mof.lry. 

James Gordon has resided for many years at Suggs- 
ville.^^ 

Ma.ior Andrkw Gordon, the father of J. Goixlon 
and of Mrs. Rivers, had the second store in Suggs- 
ville. 

Joel Bell was one of the early county commis- 
sioners. He lived near Coifeeville. Dr. Savage 
married one of his daughters. General Robert B. 
Patterson married another daughter. 

David S. Jordan came to Clarke in 1S36. He lives 
near Coffeeville. He was born in Maine, the son of a 
sea captain, Clement Jordan, who removed to Tennesssee 
when his son David S. was two years old. He after- 
wards removed to Tuskaloosa. 

* Died Novr 1878. 



iAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES, 348 

PRUETT. 

Among the later citizens are the Pruett families 
living on the Line road. They came from Wilcox 
county. 

Jouv A. Pruktt, the father, has been for a number 
of years acquainted in Chirke county, and is familiar 
with many facts of historic interest. 

William R. Pkuett, one of the sons, married Miss 
Sallie Thomas, a girl and woman of much sprightliness, 
intelligence, and goodness of heart. Also one of fine 
pers<mal appearance. 

O. F. Pruett, another son. married Miss Martha 
Thomas. 

Miss Pruett, a daughter of rF. A. Pruett, married 
Washington Thomas. 

^fiss Lucy Thomas, a young girl, lives with her sis- 
ter, Mrs. Sallie Pruett. 

A. H. Rodgers, living west of Bassetts Creek, 
James M. Rodgers, living near Amity church, and John 
N. RoD(>ERS,who lives near the home of H. T. Garrett, 
in Andersons beat, east of Amity, were the sons of 
Absolom Rodgers who came into Clarke about 1814. 

Two of these brothers, and also H. T. Garrett, are 
very active and worthy members of Amity church, a 
church manifesting very much spiritual life. 

This precinct was once called Indian Ridge, and the 
colored people have a church near Amity which they 
call Indian Ridge. It is on or near the old Choctaw 
Line, about six miles above Suggsville. 

Near Amity also lived Rarden Tharp from Georgia. 
He had eleven children. One of his sons, also a mem- 
ber of Amity church lives in the neighborhood. R. 
Thar J) died in 1877, being over sixty years ot age. 



344 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Also a member and deacon of A.niity church and 
residing on the earl}' settled Hill place, is J. M. Cartkk, 
one of the sons of Thomas Carter of Grove Hill, He 
is a prosperous planter. His wife was a sister of Rev. 
Wm. Hill. They have a pleasant family of young and 
interesting children. Here was the home of young 
Alice Creiguton a daughter of John Creighton and 
Mrs. Annie Carter's niece, who in her young, bright 
girlhood died at the home of J. II. Creighton in the 
summer of 1877. She was one of those who are early 
called away from the scenes of earth. She was a 
pleasant and energetic girl. Of her, earthly memorials 
are few. Some die voung and others live to advanced 
age. 

Robert Cuurtxky, son of James Courtney of South 
Carolina then of Georgia, who came to Alabama Terj-i- 
tory, went into Mississippi, returned to Clarke in ISl-i, 
was born, so near as can be here ascertained, about 
1790. He is now living in Cane Creek beat, a member 
of the Rocky Mount church, although somewhat iniirm. 
He married a daughter of George Foster. He has had 
fourteen children. Only five are now living. He has 
been all his busy life a blacksmith. He worked at this 
trade with James Smith, one of the three engaged in 
the Canoe Fight, with whom he was related. He has 
made gun-sights of the silver said to have come trom 
the mine on Silver Creek, An Indian ottered to show 
this mine to his young daughter, but she was afraid to 
go with the red man. He has three sons living near 
his home, Jaoksox, Enocu, and Samuel Courtney, 
Steep hills, bridle path-ways, and some old roads are 
around the present home of this aged pioneer settlei'. 
His daughter thinks she has seen General Jackson at 



FAMILY KECOHDS AND SKETCHES. 845 

tlu'ii' old lioine near the Line road. And agreeing with 
lier belief is the statement of Henry Allen that he saw 
.Jackson at the Conrtney spring near that road in liis 
early maidiood. The perplexing nature of these state- 
ments will be noticed elsewhere. 

Haudkman Di'KK came from Georgia in 1809, and 
settled on James Creek in 1811. Ilis sons were Thomas, 
William, Henry, John, Charles, Michael, and Welcome 
Parks. William Dukk, now about sixty-five years of 
age, is the miller at Cobb's mill on Silver Creek. 

Wkf.come Pakks Dukk lives on the Peach Tree road 
north of Dr. Nettles, and in the neighborhood of Salem 
church. Another member of this old family lives in 
the neighborhood, on one of those massive heights of 
Cane Creek beat. 

Joux W. Walker, whose father came from Georgia 
with a rolling hogshead, before 1812, was born in 
Georgia March 27th, 1803. He now lives in Cane Creek 
beat., about four miles from Perch Tree. liis grand- 
father was a sailor on the Atlantic ocean. He was in 
his younger days on the barges upon the Alabama 
river. He speaks of some of these as being eighty- 
four feet in length. The Walker family large in former 
generations. There were four of the generation which 
commenced about 1800. J. W. Walker, known in the 
neighborhood as Squire Walker, although not so old as 
many, is quite feeble. 

In Monroe county opposite the mouth of Silver 
Creek lives Dr. Riciiakd Maibkn, a very intelligent re- 
tired physician. He has been a practicing physician in 
Clarke, and is said to have a large amount of knowledge 
concerning the geology and natural features of the 
county. 



846 CLARKE ATs^D ITS SURR0U:NDIXGS. 

-^ South of Peach Tree, in Cane Creek beat, lives I). 

McCaskey. His father, J(Min McCaskey, from the 
"Roanoke river region in Xorth Carolina, settled in 1812 
on the Tombeckbee river near Carnejs Eluff, and in 
1813 made a new settlement near Oven Bluff. Here 
liad settled James Powell, Joiin Powell, and Daniel 
J«'Hxs<»x: and here was built PowelPs Fort. In 1816 
J. McCaskev, D. Johnson, and one of the Powells, with 
dug-outs or canoes and a barge, taking nine horses and 
twenty servants, went down the river and up the Ala- 
bama in search of lands that would suit them better. 
The men travelled on the banks on horseback to exam- 
ine locations and had gone up as far as Prairie Bluff 
when they were ambushed by Indians and McCaskey 
and Johnson were killed. Some of the party were 
taken prisoners. Powell escaped. They found no set- 
tlement on the Alabama near Peach Tree at this time, 
but in 1818 a number of families made their homes 
there. Mrs. McCaskey and the children, two sons and 
two daughters, settled near Lower Peach Tree in 1819. 
About this time an old settler on Salt Creek named 
Locklin, who had a gin. started a gin factory in Clai- 
borne. 

Duncan McCaskey, one of the two sons, born in 
Carolina in 1805, marrying Miss Bettis, a cousin of 
Mrs. Payne and a half sister of Dr. Thomas Bettis' 
father, settled in August, 1828. on the plantation where 
he now resides. For about fifty years he has cultivated 
a part of this land without using fertilizers. He has 
had twelve children, of whom five are now living. One 
daughter married Rev. H. Adams, two others are also 
married. One married son lives at home with his 
father. D. McCaskev has about twentv o-rand-children. 



P^AMrr.Y RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 347 

lie lias a pleasant location near a tlirivino; business 
town, and has passed through the trying and changing 
scenes of many years. There is coming ere long to 
all of the remaining few of his generation yet another 
and still greater change. Said a man in the days of 
old,' "All the days of my appointed time will I wait, 
till my change come.'' Long may these few survivors 
of the scenes of 1813 enjoy among us the' quiet evening 
of their days. 

Passing over now to the westward jjortion of this 
region, north of St. Stephens there lived in early times 
a family of Shoemakeks. Xot such by occupation but 
by name. Of this family there were twenty-four chil- 
dren, all having one mother, and all growing up to 
manhood and womanhood. About one half were sons. 
Before 1840 there were not only grand-children but 
great-grand-children of this large family. About that 
time they all removed to Mississippi. 

MCGREW. 

With the above name the reader has become some- 
what familiar. Two brothers, British royalists, Will- 
iam McGrew and John McGkew^ were early settlers 
on the Tombigbee. They were probably refugees from 
the Atlantic coast settlement. The two brothers have 
left the reputation of having been fine men and of hav- 
ing become good Americans. The active part taken 
by Colonel William McGrew in the Indian troubles 
and his death at the hands of the Indians on Bashi 
Creek will not be forgotten. 

It has been difficult to obtain clear and certain trace 
of the descendants of these brothers. Each seems 
to have left some sons. Major John McGrew, either 



348 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

one of these brothers or a son, in after years lived 
near Nanafalia. He was wealth}'. His wife was a 
Miss Caller. It is said of her that she would often 
swim the Tonibigbee on her horse Pomp if the flat 
boat was not on that «ide of the river where she wished 
to cross. Major McGrew of ISTanafalia is said to have 
been an estimable man, spending however considerable 
mone}' to keep his son out of trouble. The names are 
preserved of three S(ms, John, William, and Flood, 
and two younger sons are mentioned and some daugh- 
ters. William McGrew and his cousin William McGrew 
have left an unenviable reputation for recklessness, and 
for an overbearing, tyrannical, and even cruel disposi- 
tion. They were known in their day as Red-headed 
Bill and Black-headed Bill, and manj^ are the reckless 
and insolent deeds attributed to them in the traditions 
of this region. 

Sometimes they met with just punishment. 

(The scene of the following incident has been placed 
up the river and on a flat-boat. Where it took place 
is therefore uncertain. The main facts are quite sure.) 

One of them, it is said, was one cold morning near 
the landing at Cofteeville, and a stranger coming to 
the river, McGrew ordered him -to take a bath in the 
water. The stranger glanced at him for a moment and 
requested, as the water was quite cold, that he might 
return to his saddle bags and take a drink of whiskey 
first. To this McGrew assented, when the stranger, 
taking out from the saddle bags a pistol instead of a 
bottle, and again advancing remarked to McGrew that 
he might now enjo}' the luxury of that cold bath. The 
steadily aimed pistol was a very convincing argument, 
and quite speedily but very unexpectedly McGrew was 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 849 

ill the river while the stranger, pistol in hand, stood on 
the bank and enjoyed the change of situation and cir- 
cumstances. 

After killing some boys they disappeared from the 
community. 

Their mad pranks and ruthless and bloody deeds do 
not obscure the virtues of the older iind other members 
of this family, and ever with honor in the history of the 
Indian war of 1S13 the name will live of Colonel Will- 
iam McGrew. 

Woods Bluff, taking its name from Major James 
Wood, who was unmarried, and who willed his prop- 
erty to his half brother, Dr. Earle, is now in the hands 
of the Kilpatrick brothers, sons of Alexander Kilpat- 
rick. William Kilpatkick is the oldest of these 
brothers. The family were connected by marriage 
with the McGrews. A daughter of Dr. Earle, the 
former owner, married George W. Gaines. 

Dr. Lindsay resides near Peach Tree. His father 
was a Baptist minister in Monroe county. He has an 
interesting family of live daughters and two young 
sons. He is a member of the Lower Peach Tree 
church and at his house ministers iind a pleasant home. 

Centreville is the local centre of Peach Tree beat. 
It contains a store and a steam gin. 

Betiikl, also in Wilcox county, contains three 
stores, a building for beat meetings, some neat family 
residences, and. as its name would suggest, a church. 
Near it is the fertile region of Beaver Creek. W. F. 
Fontaine is one of the merchants here. L. W. God- 
bold is one of the citizens, an influential man and 
clerk of the Bethel church. His father, W. Godbold, 



350 OLAKKE AX1> ITS SUHROrXDINGS. 

was a monibor of tlu!> cliuivh. Danikl M. McLkax is 
another nierohaut at Bethel. 

Air Mount is a small viUage in the north-east corner 
of Ohu'ke. It is the residence of Dr. EASTEKr.AXi>. 
Several other families reside in and around this place. 
It is a tniall, county-line village. 

Another of the later citizens is Captain Bknmamix 
AxniKsox, from whom a beat is named. He was in 
the C\nifcj.ierato army, a captain of a Clarke county 
company." succeeding G. W. Files, and ,lohn J. R. 
Jenkins, in the Thirty-Eighth Alabama infantry. He 
was wounded at Mission Ridge. 

In his garden is a very large tig tree, probably the 
largest in the cminty. It is some twenty-tive feet in 
height, and its top shades a circle some forty feet in 
diameter. 

In this beat and on the Line road, north of Amity 
church, by the seventh mile post, is one of the famous 
vegetable curiosities of the county known as ihe 
'•crooked limb." It presents a singular appearance. 
On this road, and near by, lives a woman who has had 
twelve sons and her thirteenth and last child was a 
daughter. 

Giving name to the next beat north is an aged citi- 
zen William Gates. He was born about 1707. He 
came to Clarke from South Carolina about 1835. His 
daughters are Mrs. Angeline Wilson. Mrs. Margaret 
De Witt, wife of Rev. W. H. De Witt, and :Mrs. Keel, 
wife of Alexander Keel. His sons are Gkokgk Gatks. 
Jamks Gatks. Jonx Gates living on the Tombigbee, 
CiiRiSTiAX Gates, and Edmund Gates. He has at his 
home, which is on the Line road, a well, forty-three 
feet in depth, through red clay and sand, umvalled, the 



KAMII.V i:i,<oi:i)H ANI) ■■.Ki;i< IIKH, 



:',i) 



n-i\ cliiy Ix^iii;/ ■iilli''ictil I V (ii'm t'» !»<• u nuliii'iil '.Viill, 
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iiiiiiiicul.i vc, uikI Iovoh I.Ik; oM duyp. of united diriHl.ijin 
iH'orl. jukI ^<;fi<'r;il (!liriHtiuii lovo. 1 1" li;(.'i ji iniM fui'l 

;iMli)lhl(! Hpilil. Two of llJH HO/IM r(!Mi<l': IM'Ur IIk! o|(| 

lioiric. 

.loiiN <«A'ii,H ifuiiiifl Mi'.f'. .I;i.ii<: (l(>\i\>. 

(ii;or(f;i. Oa'iih uIho Mi;in'i<;<l u Mii-,^ TohK. Il<- livon 

oil tli<; HJlliic I, ill*; roii'l. 



HaMI;I,I. ('o|;|; ciiliM; iVoin N'orlli (JiilolitlU ul'ff-rtlK; 

Iiidiiin wur. Il<; hcttlcd ii<;;ir tin; Ahiljumii river, IIIh 

HOMH ilVC. MoNUOK iUttUi, Wll<» liv(!H Oil l.lir; A luljillMU 

river, Miilaelii A. Toiii!, wlio liven at, Sii^^^^Mville, Knoom 
S. (Uitw,, who lives ii<;ur Orove Hill and in one of 
I lie |)rinei|)!il iiioiiie(| uien of tlie fiounty, and .Iamkm 
Cntui, who in (injnarrierl. His daii^hlerH are, Mrn. 
NichoJH, MrM. N, WadkiiiH, Mi-m. i'tcoy^c Oaf,e,H, and 
Mr;-. .John <ial,eH. S. T'ohh died in 1858, then 'jiiite an 
a^ed -nia;i. His wife died in I>s7'1 heiiig Mevofjt.y four 
years of ;i^e. 

Makio.s r'oiji;, a son of \\. S. ColW), lives in (ivhvc, 
llill. He, owns an exe<;llenl, mill seat, o/i .Silv(;r (/reek, 
'llie patent, for the land on whieh ihis mill stands wan 
I sued hy John Qiiiney Adams, lV(;«irJ(;nt of the 
I'nit,e<l States, in November 1827, Around liiM field 
near (irove Hill he has a f<;nee Hixt,e»;/i rails high wit.ji 
a "rider," It is a Virginia or worm f<;nee of jWnr; 
rails, Hev(jrit,een in a length or j^anrd. A de-er woiild 
almost lifcHitute to try to Mcalo it. High fencoH, with 
twelve and tliirt(;(;ri raiJH, arc common in th'o county, 

\)r. .Ion;, \i. Nkii i.ks, the poHtrnaMtcr, physician, 



352 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

and teaclier at Nettleboro, became a citizen of Clarke 
in 1870. His father came to Marengo in 1835; and 
about ISTanafalia, in Washington county, and in Clarke, 
Dr. jNTettles has had an extensive acquaintance. The 
Nettles' families in the South are of Welch origin. 
About 1700, three brothers of this name came from 
Wales. Sometime before the late war it was ascer- 
tained that four million dollars were in the Bank of 
England for the representativ^es of the family in this 
country, and the lines were therefore carefully traced 
up. About seventy families were found in Alabama 
and Mississippi. The number in the Carolinas, in 
Tennessee, and Florida, was not fully ascertained. 
The money is still in England. 

On Dr. Nettles' place is a spring from which it is 
claimed General Jackson once drank. 

Dr. Nettles has a small, reiined family. He is in- 
telligent and sociable, and is a deacon of a Baptist 
church. 

Another Nettles family has lived near Peach Tree. 

Robert Nettles, the head of another of these fami- 
lies, lives at Grove Hill. He is now advanced in 
life. 

Among later residents in Clarke appears the name 
of Dawson. The date of residence is about 1855. 

Daviu D. Dawson married Miss B. Chapnum. In 

war times, in 1862 and those years, he carried on a 

hat factory near Grove Hill. He was afterwai d county 

sheriif, and resided, in 1874, about a mile west of Grove 

Plill. He has two sons and one daughter. The family 

lately removed to Texas." 

Henry Dawson married a young lady at Mcintosh 

* Mrs. B. Dawson died in Texas near the close of this year of 1879. 



FAMILY KECORDS AND SKETCHES. 358 

Bluli. He luis been for several years county surveyor. 
His home is north of Coffee v ill e. 

Joel Dawson is connected with a business house at 
Mobile. 

JoSEiMi Dawson married Miss Mattie Malone. They 
reside at Cotfeeville, where also Mrs. Dawson, the 
mother of these four brothers is living. She has seve- 
ral married daughters. 

.tackson. 

Of the first actual settlement near what is now the 
village of Jackson, in the old French and Spanish 
times, no certain knowledge remains. And' it is diffi- 
cult now to ascertain who were the first American 
residents here. Evidently, about the year 1800 settle- 
ments were made on the east side of the river opposite 
St. Stephens and below. The little village that s])rang 
up. at first called Republic ville, and afterward Pine 
Level, was incorporated in November, 1816, under the 
name ot Jackson, a name which was given very natu- 
rally in honor of the distinguished general. The 
officers of the town were fiA'e commissioners, a consta- 
ble, a treasurer, an assessor, a collector, a town clerk, 
and ''when necessary" a clerk of the market. The 
new town soon became a thriving, prosperous place. 
The population at length reached the number of fifteen 
hundred. The main thoroughfares were Carrol, Wash- 
ington, Commerce, Broadway, Florida Avenue, and 
other smaller streets. Trade came from a distance of 
a hundred miles. The streets were lined with shops, 
in which were carried on various trades. It was at 
that time a manufacturing and commercial town. 
Among other branches of industry there was a large 
'^3 



354 CLARKE AIS^D ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

tannerv, there were shops fur tin-ware, for the manu- 
facture of saddles, of hats, of boots and shoes, and of 
other articles of household and family use. Before the 
days of steamboats twenty sail of vessels at one time 
sometimes lay at the landing. And after steamboats 
began to navigate the river they were repaired and 
almost rebuilt, in these enterprising and manufacturing 
times, by the mechanics of Jackson. A large academy, 
with a spire and bell, was erected and used also for a 
church. There were French residents at Jackson in 
these palmy days, among them, families who had in 
"sunny, vine-clad France,'' seen other and. to them, 
better times, were the M'Tongs, Dido who was a mer- 
chant, Mojio who became a shoemakei-, and others 
whose names are lost. The names given may not be 
correctly written. There was one small tradesman, a 
bachelor, living alone and being his own housekeeper, 
who had a genuine Three-waters to help him in house- 
hold affairs. This was a little dog. who. it is said, 
performed the whole duty of washing the dishes thus 
saving his master from no little trouble. 

There were also as residents at that time Pennsyl- 
vania Germans and Quakers. Among the former was 
Sebastian Hank, a very ingenious man. He had a 
tame black bear trained to do the churning of the 
family, instead of what some of his countrymen else- 
where have employed a Xewfoundland dog. How 
well the bear liked the occupation and whether he 
feasted on the buttermilk tradition has not said. John 
Hauk, a relative of Sebastian, was an ingenious 
draughtsman. Machinery for a mill, according to his 
design, was cast at Philadelphia and bi'ought to Jack- 
son and set up. And it worked well. 



FAMILY KfXOKDS A'SY) SKETCHES. 855 

Among the Quakers Brookshire. a iiiercliant, who 
(lied here. King and Kassinger, Pennsylvania (Ger- 
mans, had a lari^e tannery. There were three saw- 
mills and four grist-mills in the neighborhood. Wheat 
was raised, and a flouring mill was owned by David 
Taylor. (As late as 1>173 some wheat was raised here. 
December ISth of that year four bushels of wheat was 
sown. In the spring of 1874 came the ''great freshet." 
For sixteen days that wheat stood in water about 
fifteen inches deep. The seed was of two varieties. 
A part rusted and was ruined. The rest, which w^as 
the Georgia red, matured excellently and was harvested 
June 22d, for the seed and ground, a good crop.) A 
decline at Jackson began. St. Stephens and Claiborne, 
it will be seen, also rapidly declined, when changes of 
centers and of business came. Then many of the 
enterprising French. German, and American artisans, 
manufacturers, and business men. removed from Jack- 
son, with their means and handicrafts, to other grow- 
ing centers, and became prominent, useful, and even 
wealthy citizens, in other localities. 

Among these was L. Hatch, who had the handsomest 
residence in Jackson, He was wealthy, came from 
South Carolina, and had around his dwelling, flowers, 
fruits, shrubbery, and fine forest trees. His place is 
now the residence of Captain AYainwright. The floral 
beauty has departed, the wealth, the taste, the luxury, 
went with the former owner or disappeared; but the 
grand oaks are there still in their massive strength and 
beauty. 

Frank Strtxgek was an early resident. He kept 
the landing and also the first ferry at the landing. He 
was succeeded bv Caller who sold to S. B. Shields. 



356 CLAKKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Shields sold the landing and ferry to David Taylor. 
These remained for many years in the possession of 
the Taylor family and at length came into the hands of 
the present owner, Isliam Kimbell. 

Frank Stringer was the father of William Stkixger 
who had five sons, James, Alexander J., F. M., S. P., 
and John R. L., and several daughters. Alexander J. 
Stringer became a Baptist minister and married a 
daugliter of Mrs. Lawson. 

This family is now largely represented in the county. 
One of the above named sons, Seth P. Stringer, is now 
post-master at Jackson. 

William Walton, an early citizen from South Caro- 
lina, removed to Greene county. B. Glover and 
brothers removed to Demopolis. Others went to vari- 
ous places; 

Early physicians of Jackson. Drs. McGowen, Bon- 
ner, Wyatt, Stewart, Bluminach, Robinson, Sewall,1834. 
Savage. 

Some early families. 

DUBOSE. 

This family, of Huguenot origin, the name probably 
slightly changed, had, as early representatives, three 
brothers, Elias H. Dubose, Abel H. Dubose, and Peter 
Dubose. There was also a fourth, perhaps brother, 
George Dubose, who is now living in Conecuh county. 
And a fifth came at a later day, not then a young 
man, James Dubose. . 

Elias H. Dubose was state representative in 182t). 
His sons were E. J. Dubose, Abel E. Dubose, and 
Lemuel Dubose. 

Abel H. Dubose was state representative in 1834. 



FA.AflLY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 357 

His daughter was Miss Ellen Dubose, a beautiful and 
pleasant girl, who married Dr. Saint, who is now living 
with her husband and children at FraTd-clin, St. Mary's, 
Louisiana. 

Peter Dubose who married Martha M. Fogue, was 
representative in 1842. His sons are F. S. Dubose, J. 
E. Dubose, and Peter Dubose. (Those of this genera- 
tion write the name in a different form. Tlie forms 
known in literature are Dubois and Dubos. ) 

J. E. Dv Bosk is now a merchant at Jackson. 
Other members of the families named are also at 
Jackson. 

The three who were representatives of Clarke county 
are no longer among the living. 

DAFFIN. 

The above name is also, without much doubt, of 
Huguenot origin, and it had originally a slightly differ- 
ent orthography. 

James Daffix, who was quite an early scttlei-. had 
six sons, Jackson, Andrew, John, Orrin, George, and 
Derusha. He had one daughter who married p]. J. 
Doty. 

Andrew Daffix and Jacksox Daffix are now living 
in Texas. The other four sons are dead. 

Orrix Daffix left a son, Jonx Daffix. who has a 
family and is now living near Jackson. 

Dkuusha Daffix removed to Grove Hill and occu- 
pied there, for many years, various positions in public 
life. In 1851 he was married to Miss Rebecca xV. 
^Voodard of Grove Hill. 

In December, 18-19, he commenced the publication 
of the Grove Hill Herald, and continued this for save- 



358 CLARKE AND ITS SUKROUNDINGS. 

ral years. He was appointed, at some period of the 
war, Assistant Adjutant G-eneral of the 22d Brigade, 
Dr. L. L. Alston being Brigade Surgeon. 

Mrs. Rebecca Daffin having died, D. Baffin after- 
wards married Miss Clarinda Coate. His own health 
became feeble after the war and, in 1868, in company 
with Judge Torrey of Claiborne, he took a trip to 
Minnesota for the benefit of his rapidly declining 
health. He wrote some interesting letters to the 
Clarke County Democrat, and died in Minnesota, in- 
stead of returning in renewed health. For about twenty 
years, from 1848 to 1868, he filled a large space in the 
active life of Grove Hill and Clarke county. And then 
he passed, but not into forgetfulness. His name is 
written on many a page of the history of Clarke. The 
author of this work enjoyed many pleasant years of 
association with him in various ways, and he is sure 
that not soon will be erased from the county records 
the name of Derusua Daffix. 

He left two sons, sons of his first wife, Henry C. 
Daffin and Willie W. Daffin. The former married 
and has some little children growing up within his 
home. He too is in feeble health.* 

Willie W, Daffin married Miss I^ettles in Septem- 
ber, 1874. He is residing in Grove Hill and is carrying 
on a jeweler's shop. The representatives of a once 
large family are now few in Clarke. Very pleasant 
qualities of mind and heart are characteristics of the 
Grove Hill branch of the Daffin family. 

We return to Jackson. Among families united here 
by marriage are Parker and Taylor families. 

* Henry C. Daffin died Jan. 18, 1878. Mrs:. Daffin, a very pleasant woman, is 
carrying on the store, and resides with her little children at Grove Hill. 



FA^rILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 359 

PARKER. 

From the family Bible : Jesse and Jane Parker were 
married Jannary 4, 1776. Jesse Parker was married 
to Charlotte Parker June 2, 1785. William E. Parker 
was boi-n in South Carolina April 26, 1790. He died 
September 5, 1845, aged iifty-six years. Jane Cathell 
Parker, his wife, was born April 28, 1795.* 

Jesse Parker came from South Carolina to Clarke 
about ISIO. 

William R. Parker, his son, was married to Miss 
Cathell about 1813. He had four sons and three daugh- 
ters. Of these, Zena S. Parker is dead. 

Washixc.ton C, Parker and W. S. Parker are 
living. The daughters were Charlotte J., Harriet 
P., not now living, and Linea Y. 

Seth J. Parker, one of the four sons, was born Feb. 
18, 1828. He has six children. His home is three miles 
from Jackson. He has been in public life and is well 
known over the county. He has been for many years 
a prominent citizen. 

A remarkable case of physical suffering and of re- 
covery occurred in his family. A little bo}' some 
seven years of age was accidentally shot with a small 
pistol. The bullet, about the size of a swan shot, 
entered the bladder and soon prevented the discharge 
of water, except in a certain position of the body. It 
seemed as if the fearfully distended bladder must 
burst. The child experienced intense pain. Two phy- 
sicians did all they could for his relief. A surgical 
Operation was proposed, but it was considered too 
dangerous. At length, after three months of suffering, 
the shot forced its own way out through the natural 

*She (lied May 12, 1879. 



3-60 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

channel, i\lief was then obtained, the wound healed, 
and the child recovered. He is now a vigorous youth. 
The remarkable points in this case maybe readily seen. 
On the plantation of S. J. Parker, north of Jackson 
quite an amount of ancient ] lottery was washed out in 
the freshet of 1874, from fifteen feet beneath the surface. 
The author has in his possession one of these pieces, 
having on it a well designed human hand. The bake- 
kettle or oven, of which this seems to have been a part, 
would hold, perhaps, half of a bushel. 

TAYLOR. 

David Taylor became a settler here about 1812. 
In 1816 he married Judith C. Parker, daughter of Jesse 
and Charlotte Parker, sister of William E. Parker. 
Having been a merchant in Augusta, Georgia, he com- 
menced merchandizing in Jackson. Seven children 
lived to grow up. Six of these were sons, Walter, 
John, Seth P., David, Kobert H. and William J. One 
was a daughter, Miss Charlotte A. E. Taylor, who 
married Colonel A. P. Sankford. Of these there are 
now living, John Taylor and Seth P. Taylor, who 
were merchants here in 1853 and ISol, and Walter 
Taylor. Born in 1817, AV. Taylor attended the 
University of Alabama but graduated at Augusta, 
Kentucky, in 1835, then the seat of a nourishing Metho- 
dist institution where Bishop Basconi then was pre- 
siding. He studied law at Transylvania University, in 
Pennsylvania, and was a classmate of Frank P. Blair. 
He returned to Jackson, but did not continue the 
profession of law. From 1856 to 1859 he made an 
experiment in Illinois farming. Wheat rusted in those 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 361 

years, and money was lost. After the war he engaged 
in business at Jackson as a merchant. 

In his home at Jackson, where he now lives in re- 
tirement and almost blind, eight children have grown 
up. Six of these, five daughters and one son, are now 
living. This family is characterized by intelligence 
and refinement. In church relations they are Metho- 
dists. From 1S12 until now some representatives of 
the Taylor family have been active leaders in the 
business, social, and religious life of Jackson. 

CHAPlNrAX. 

JoHX M. Chapman came from South Carolina in 1810 
and settled near Jackson. He had two sons, John C. 
and James Monroe. He was an active citizen and died 
in 18»i7. 

James Monroe Chapman, then a young man entering 
upon life, left Mobile for the city of Boston, in order to 
pursue there the study of medicine, October 22, 1842. 
The vessel on wliich he embarked was never heard 
from afterwards, and all who were on board are suppos- 
ed to have been lost. Many have gone down to the 
sea in ships and have never returned to home and 
countrv. 

Often these plaintive words prove true, 

• At many a board there is left a place 
For those that come no more." 

John C. Chapman, the remaining brother, has con- 
tinued to reside near or in Jackson. In 1872 he was 
elected representative to the state legislature. He is 
still one of the active citizens of Jackson. 

Jackson is pleasantly located for a town. The ap- 



362 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

proach from the noi'th-east is along a fine avenue, 
shaded by hirge trees, the avenue being a quarter of a 
mile or more in length; and on entering- the present 
village the stranger will at once notice the long rows of 
large china trees, which are now some sixty years old 
and are evidently past their prime. There are at pres- 
ent no imposing residences in the place, but the square 
or block where stands the home of Walter Taylor, with 
its trees and shrubbery, presents quite a city like 
appearance. Capital and enterprise are needed here, 
and when these return, perhaps a spirit of larger hos- 
pitality will re-visit the citizens. - 

In 1811 William Walker had a mill south of Bas- 
setts Creek. From him probably was named the old 
Walker Springs beat. 

Old families of Walkers, Bradleys, Joiners, and 
Gills, of whom there are still representatives, lived be- 
tween Jackson and Suggs ville, or- Jackson and Gaines- 
town. These three points form the southern triangle 
of the county, Suggsville being twelve miles east and 
six north from Jackson, and Gainestown being twelve 
miles east and six south. The length of the two longer 
sides of this triangle is about thirteen miles. The 
Walker Springs beat, named above, contained a part 
of the area of this triangle. 

In the points of the northern triangle are the towns 
of Grove Hill, Choctaw Corner, and Cofteeville, the 
sides of which are in length sixteen and a half, eighteen 
and a half, and twentj^-two and a half miles. These 

* 1879. A. M. Wing, a new merchant here, is erecting quite a tasty and snb- 
Btantial dwelling house, and appearances indicate that he has both capital and 
enterprise. The two combined will yet work great changes in many parts of what 
has long been known as '-Old Clarke." Northern railroad guides speak of the 
Bigbee bridge. When it becomes a reality, business at Jackson will probably 
increase. 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 363 

six points now iiained are the principal towns or vil- 
lages of the count3% Next to these is Gosport, the 
residence of Col. Forwood, where are two store build- 
ings and a neat Methodist church. 

Bashi, Bedsole's Store, Clarke's Store, Dead Level, 
and Air Mount are little centers of village life. 

On the west side of Bassetts Creek, in townships 
eight and nine, and lying along or very near the range 
line between ranges three and four east, is an interest- 
ing little neighbcn-hood. 

Beginning at the south, just in township eight, here 
are the residences of John W. Robinson, of Westwood 
Presnall, of George W. Allen, of R. P. Bensoii, of A. 
J. Benson, "^of Mrs. Tracy Robinson and two sons, of 
Judge Bettis' family, of A. II. Rodgers, of Col. W. J. 
Hamilton, and going again southward of John Gwinn. 

At J. W. Robinson's, formerly the Matlock place, 
the visitor's eye can sweep the whole horizon. There 
is scarce such another dwelling spot in the county. 
Here may be found a spy-glass, and the lover of a fine 
landscape view will use it gladly as his eye sweeps 
over the Creek valley. In the bottom lands wild-cats 
are quite abundant, and the neighborhood furnishes a 
range for foxes. This hunting ground the members of 
this hospitable family improve. 

George AV. Allen is a son of Cyrus Allen who 
resided north of Grove Hill. His wife was Miss Rob- 
inson. They have nine children living, among them 
some intelligent, grown daughters. 

A. J. Benson, whose father died in Floyd's army in 

1814, who was born in Georgia, came to (Jlarke in 

1815. His wife, who was a daughter of D. Handly of 
South Carolina, was born in 1815. These were the 



36-1: CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

first couple married by Rev. H. Creighton. They have 
had six chihiren. Five sons and a son-in-law were in 
the Confederate army. The maternal grandfather of 
A. J. Benson, N^oah Doddridge, a native of Maryland, 
came from Georgia in 1814 and died in Clarke in 1840. 
This family and most of the families of this neighbor- 
hood, are active and zealous Baptist members. Pleas- 
ant meetings are held at the Moncrief school honse. 

One Presnall family has been named as residing in 
this pleasant neighborhood. Elijah Presxat.l and 
Abxer Presxall were two brothers, both early resi- 
dents. The name appears in various connecti(ms. 
Westwood Presnall was a son of Elijah; and John 
Presnall a son of Abner. Willia:\[ J. Presnall is 
the son of Westwood Presnall. He is a son-in-law of 
J. AV. Robinson. 

There are now six Presnall families. 



IT 



HEARIN. 

On the tenth of December, 1816, a company ot 
about ninety persons left South Carolina to find new 
homes in the western wilds. They travelled in wagons 
drawn by horses. They crossed the Alabama river 
near Claiborne January nineteenth, 1817, and soon 
made settlements. 

Among these were Robert Hearin Senior and fami- 
ly. His sons were, Thomas, Elisha, John, William, 
Robert Junior, and James. His daughters were, Mary, 
Elisabeth. Sallie, Xancv, Eliza, Emily, and Rebecca 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES, 365 

wlio (lied in infancy. The family home was on the 
road from Claiborne to Grove Hill, between the river 
and Bassett's Creek. Most prominent there now, in the 
view of the passing stranger is the well kept family 
burial place with its marble slabs and monuments; but 
for many years that home was the centre of abundant 
plantation life and activity. 

One by one the daughters found companions for the 
journey of life. Elisabeth married Travis Hill, Sallie 
married Harmon Bussey, Nancy was married to AVill- 
iam A. Morris, Eliza to N. Davis, Emily to S. Eowe, 
and Mary was married to Elisha L. Bettis. 

Robert Hearin Senior died in 1840. JSTo material is 
at hand from which to present a view of his active life, 
nor from which to gather any special particulars in 
regard to his character. He was in his day a promi- 
nent and wealthy man among the planters of Clarke. 

Thomas Heakin built a fine residence at Grove Hill 
about 1843, and resided there for some years that his 
children might enjoy educational advantages at the 
Grove Hill Academy. He was at this period engaged 
in business as a merchant. He had a large family, and 
among the children was a pair of beautiful twin girls. 
So like to each other they were that even their mother, 
it is said, could not readily tell the one from the other; 
and in their young girlhood some slight distinguishing- 
mark was attached to the dress of each. Of a pair of 
fabulous twins it is said : 

" So like they were, no mortal 
Might one from otlier know." 

These the nurse alone could readilv distinguish. 

In about 1850 the family left Grove ILill, the oldest 



3(36 CLAKKE AXD ITS SURROUXDIXGS. 

son, Madison and otliers of the children died, and at 
length the father. Thomas Hearin, died at Bladon 
Springs. 

Elisha Heaeix died at the home of his father. Xo 
further records concerning him are at hand. 

JoHX Hearix remained in the county till 1840 when 
he removed to Arkansas, where, >-o far as is known, he 
is still living. 

William J. Heakix, becoming a prominent business 
man, is now a wealthy commission merchant at Mobile. 
His family usually spend the summer months in 
Clarke county. 

Robert Hearix Junior married Miss B. Harris, a 
sister of Miss Sallie Harris, and became a planter, re- 
siding near Gosport. He was accidentally shot. 

James Madisox Heakix was married to Miss Sarah 
C. Elvers, the eldest daughter of Dr. T. B. Rivers of 
Suggsville. He died at the residence of Dr. Rivers in 
March, 185.8, being not cpiite twenty-seven years of age. 

Of him the following memorial records are found. 

"•He had selected a beautiful location in that rich, 
luxuriant bend of the Alabama River, in the south- 
eastern portion of Clarke, a residence enchanted by the 
svlvan muses, native forests, verdant lields, and 
selected shrubbery. In the midst of aftectionate rela- 
tives and kind neighbors, with large social pleasures, he 
pictured a bright future in all its pleasing and prosper- 
ous anticipations. He had taken his position in society, 
and amongst men was known as a lirm friend, a de- 
cided politician, a well-wisher to education and reli- 
gion. ^ " " Industrious, frugal, and temperate, 
he had laid well the foundation of a tine citizen." 

Of this large family, for many years so prominent 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 367 

and influential in the county, Major AV. J. Ilearin, the 
commission merchant at Mobile is, among the sons, 
the only remaining representative. He is now passing 
the meridian of life, has seen many changes in social 
and in civil relations, and is a reliable and thriving 
business man, popular and influential in the city and 
among the planters. 

Of the daughters above named, some facts can be 
given concerning one, 

MRS. MART BETTIS. 

She was born in South Carolina in July. ISOi, and 
remembers well the removal into South Alabama. She 
was married, January 22d 1824, to Elisha L. Bettis, 
who was born in 1800, and who was a son of Stepheis' 
Bettis, the father of six sons and two daughters, who 
removed to Clarke county from Edgefield District, 
South Carolina, in 1818. 

E. L. and Mrs. Mary Bettis settled between Fort 
Sinquetield and Bassett's Creek. They had seven 
sons, Robert C, William, Elisha, Walter, Thomas, 
John, and JSToi'phlet. They had two daughters, Xancy 
C. who was married to James H. Cranford ; and Mary 
Ann, who was married to David Cammack, and who 
still resides on the old homestead. J, H, Cranford 
was for some years, between 1850 and 1800, a merchant 
at Grove Hill. He finally removed to Arkansas where 
he and his wife both died. 

E. L. Bettis died January 11th 1852. Robert C, 
the oldest son, died in childhood. William John, and 
Norpblet died in the civil war. The other three sons 
are married, have families around them, and have 
pleasant homes of abundance in or near Choctaw Cor- 



3f)8 CLARKE AXD ITS SURROUXDINGS. 

ner. Mrs. M. Bettis. now, liii lS77i seventy-three 
years of age, resides sometimes witli lier sons and 
sometimes with her daugliter. She has been a woman 
of good judgment, of strong and retentive memory, of 
much energy of character. She still retains her facul- 
ties well, although failing slightly in physical activity. 
She is one of those who j^rove to be life-long friends ; 
a woman of more than ordinary mental endowments 
and social qualities. 

Mrs. William Bettis, a member of one of the large 
families of Clarke, resides among her relatives near 
Grove Hill. Her oldest son died in infancy. 

The second is now a promising youth, with the 
hopeful years of manhood lying invitingly before hini.^ 

Elisha Bkttis and AValter Bettis are farmers near 
Choctaw Corner. They are enterprising and prosper- 
ous. 

Dr. Tin 'MAS J. Bettis studied medicine at Xashville 
in 1859. He graduated at Xew Orleans, at the Uni- 
versity of Louisiana, in 1861 He married Miss Carrie 
Goodwin in 1862. They have four daughters. The 
older ones attend the academy, and are intelligent, 
studious pupils. Dr. Bettis is a member of the Xew 
Hope church and a zealous Baptist. 



BiCHAED BivERS and Joel River? were brothers 
from Tennessee. Both lived to be very aged men. 
The latter died at Grove Hill when the yellow fever 
prevailed in 1853. He had a son. Hinchey Kivers, and 
a daughter who became Mrs. C. E. Woodard. 

Hinchey Rivers lived near Choctaw Corner. Hi& 

* William J. Bettis and Miss Rebecca Chapman were married October 23d, 1856. 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 369 

sons were Joel, Hinchcy, and Euphrates : his daugh- 
ters were Mary Ellen and Martha Adaline. 

The former of the two Tennessee brothers, had also 
a son, Thomas Rivers, and a daughter, Rebecca Rivers. 
Miss R. Rivers married Colonel Portis of Suggsville. 

Dr. Thomas B. Rivers, who came from Tennessee 
with his father's family in the latter part of the year 
1815, began to practice medicine in Jackson in 1832. 
He settled at Suggsville in 1836, and engaged in farm- 
ing besides attending to the duties of his profession. 

His sons are Blount and Joseph ; and he has had 
six daughters, Sarah C, Ellen, who became Mrs. Rush 
of Marion, Pauline, Virginia, and Emma Lena. Also 
Miss May. now Mrs. Krouse. 

Miss Sarah C. Rivers, the eldest daughter of Dr. 
T. B. Rivers, was married to James Madison Hearin, 
who died in March, 1858. She is described by a friend 
as having been gentle in thought, speech, and action ; 
as possessing a kind, sympathetic, and true nafcure ; as 
having a bright intellect and becoming cultivated and 
accomplished; and as having "a form moulded to the 
beau ideal of perfect symmetry loveliness and grace." 
She is also described as fervently and devoutl}- pious, 
having an unwavering faith in God and in his Son 
Jesus Christ. She died in 1859, about a year after the 
death of her husband, and left a young daughter, now 
Miss Sali.ie Hearin, who makes her home at Dr. 
Rivers' in Suggsville and is one of the largest tax 
payers in Clarke county. 

!Miss Emma Lena Rivers, an accomplished and 
graceful young lady, and Miss Pauline Rivers, spend 
some part of their time at their father's home. With 
such inmates it cannot be lonely there. 
24 



370 CLARKE AND ITS SURKOUNDINGS. 

Dr. Rivers had at one time on his plantation about 
fifteen miles of fence. In 1835 he went to Texas to 
build mills. He returned and erected, on a choice 
building spot, a large family mansion where he still 
resides. 

Dr. Krouse lives about three miles from Suggsville. 
Like Dr. Rivers he does not give his chief attention to 
his profession. 

James A. B. Flinn, who died several years ago, 
was a very active, enterprising citizen. He married 
Mrs. N. Davis, formerly Miss Eliza Hearin, and accu- 
mulated considerable property. 

Members of these connected and wealthy families 
took an active part in sending out that company known 
as the Eliza Flinn Guards. 

Robert H. Flinn, one of the young pupils at Rock- 
ville in 1853, and then heir to a large estate, is now 
one of the active business men of the county. He was 
lately eiected Tax Collector for the county and is now 
discharging the duties of that office. 

CO ATE. 

William Coate, from JN^ewbury District, South 
Carolina, settled, near what became Clarkesville, about 
the year 1800. He attached a pair of shafts to a hogs- 
head, and with an ox harnessed in the shafts, conveyed 
thus through the Indian wilds his few household goods. 
The imaginative reader can readily form a picture of 
this pioneer as he proceeded, day after day, further 
from the Atlantic sea-board, into wilds to him unknown, 
with his one ox and his hogshead and his few compan- 
ions, going to aid in founding a new and powerful 
state. 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 371 

He soon opened a plautatiou near that raii_<i:e of hills 
that extends across the county in a winding line, which 
travellers cross in passing from (irove Hill to Choctaw 
Corner, or to Tallahatta S])rings, or to Coffee ville ; 
and his house was for a time the place where the courts 
of the county were held. His mother afterward came 
from Carolina and made her home with her son. He 
was married three times. His sons were John A., 
Henly W., Jesse, and Miles. 

In an incident which has been preserved something 
may be learned of the durability of wood. He fenced 
in a garden spot using posts of cedar and of "light- 
wood." Forty years after the fence was built, it was 
removed, when the cedar was found to be more or less 
decayed, while the light-wood posts were sound. 

As a man W. Coate is said to have been scrupu- 
lously exact and honest in his dealings, on good terms 
with every one, and to have lived each day as though 
it was to be his last. He died in 1870, supposed to be 
one hundred years of age. The date of his birth seems 
to have been lost. Shortly before his death he was 
baptized. He was carried from his bed to a baptismal 
pool and was there immersed. A former servant, then 
blind, and about eighty years of age, was baptized at 
the same time; and the yet more aged and feeble man, 
the once careful and kind mastei-, remained l^nng on his 
bed after his own baptism and would not be removed 
till he had seen "Joe" baptized. 

Born, so near as can now be ascertained, some years 
before the Revolutionary AVar, and living about as 
many years after the Civil War, this upright and 
Christian centenarian saw remarkable changes take 
place in this land. Through such an eventful hundred 



372 (!LARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

years it is much to live. Of his four sons Jesse Coate 
is still living in Mississippi. 

John A. Coate had also four sons, William C, 
James A., John H., and Charles J.; and two daugh- 
ters, Clarinda J. and Bettie. 

The last named daughter died in 1869. John PI. 
Coate, the third son, died in the Confederate army. 

William C. Coate spent the years of his youth in 
and near "Grove Hill. He was a student at the acade- 
my for several years and a member of the Sabbath 
School. He often called upon the teacher in the 
academy building, at tlie time of his Sabbath evening 
meditation hour, for the purpose of religious conversa- 
tion. He was then beginning to be an inquirer after 
truth. Sometimes he brought a young friend with 
him, Edwin T. Megginson. Before long the two stu- 
dents were baptized, on profession of the Christian 
faith, and became members of the Baptist church at 
Horeb, near Grove Hill. W. C. Coate at length mar- 
ried a young lady at Marion, to whom he was very 
much attached, Miss Jennie C. Elliott, and made his 
business home at Memphis, Tennessee. He has re- 
sided there for several years.* 

The other two brothers, James A. and Charles J. 
Coate, reside near Clarksville, at the old homestead. 

Miss Clarinda J. Coate married D. Daffin, then a 
widower, in October 1861. He died in 1868. Mrs. 
Daffin has been a good mother to the children in her 

♦The Memphis Baptist for December, 1878, contains the following: "We are 
pained to annonnce the death of Brother William C. Coate, a member of the First 
Church. Brother Coate rotnrned to the city November the 10th; and just nine 
days thereafter was attacked by yellow fever, and expired the 27th. He was a 
noble Christian gentleman, honored and beloved by all who came within the circle 
of his acquaintance, an active and useful church member and a good citizen. He 
died the peaceful, calm, and trusting death of a righteous man." 



FAMILY KKCOKDS AND SKCT'CIIES. 373 

care. She lost by tlie luiud of death her own little 
Robert L., eight years of age, a gentle blue-eyed boy 
some two or three years ago. She still resides in hei 
comfortable home at Grove Hill. 

Major John A. Coate, the father of the six named 
above, was coroner and also sheriff of the county. He 
was a faithful officer. He was a member of Macon 
Lodge and t)f the Grove Hill Baptist Church. He 
died February 12th 1863. 

Judge Hknly W. Coatk, one of the sons of Wni. 
Coate, was for several years a prDuiinent citizen of the 
county at Grove Hill. He married Miss Ann Elizabeth 
Boroughs, tltted up a pleasant residence near the town, 
was postmaster and Judge of Probate Court, was in- 
dustrious and economical, and was a very popular 
public man. He accumulated considerable propert}''. 
He had one son, Richard C, who died May 28, 1866; 
and two daughters, Mattie E. and Mazie R. Miss 
Mattie married Samuel Forwood. Miss Mazie mar- 
ried A. Paul Jones, of Texas. 

Judge Coate was a very mild and unassuming man, 
acconmiodating in his official duties and trj'ing to do 
right, obliging and pleasant in social life, and ever 
cai-eful not to give offence. He died, while yet in the 
prime of life, in 186-. 

Mrs. Coate, now Mrs. jSTewman, resides near Grove 
Hill. 

Mrs. Eeizabetu Coate, wife of William Coate and 
mother of Judge Henly W. Coate, died July 16tli, 1836. 

Since the above sketch of Judge Coate was written, 
the following from an April publication has been found. 
It was written evidently by an esteemed friend and a 
distinguished citizen of the county. 



374 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

"OBITIJAEY. 

The arrow of Death has sped its liight, and Heni.y 
W. CoATE has fallen his victim. — He died on the 11th 
inst. of pneumonia, at his residence near this place, in 
the -tttth year of his age. He filled many offices of 
honor in this County, and that fact alone attests the 
high regard in which he was held by all who knew him. 
About the year isil he was elected Tax Collector for 
the County, which office he tilled for several years. In 
the year 1844 he was elected Clerk of the County 
Court, and remained in said office until it was abolished 
by the Legislature in 1849. After the establishment of 
Courts of Probate, he became a candidate for the office 
of Probate Judge, and although he had a popular com- 
petitor, yet he was elected by a very large majority. 
He tilled said office for six years. He discharged the 
duties of Clerk and Judge respectively with great 
fidelity. He was a systematic man — order reigned 
throughout his office — it was stamped upon all his busi- 
ness transactions. The papers of his office were always 
arranged with much care — every document in its place 
— and although it was difficult to arrange and keep in 
order the almost countless papers pertaining to the 
office, yet so admirably adjusted were they, and so well 
acquainted was he with the dilferent files, that he could 
turn to any one of them in a moment of time. His 
records would compare favorably with any in the State 
— they were fit emblems of his character, 'without spot 
and without blemish.' During his long public career, 
he always retained the confidence of the people. 

He was a zealous and consistent member of the Ma- 
sonic order, having joined the same about the year 
1841, and was one of the Chartered members of Macon 
Lodge No. 7. He was Secretary of the Lodge for a 
number of years, and at the time of his death was Sen- 
ior Warden — the charge given to liim, "Look well to 
the West," was well observed and faithfully executed. 

He joined the Baptist Church at Horeb last Novem- 
ber, and made a useful and consistent member. He 



FAMILY RECORDS AXD SKP:TCHES. 375 

bore his sickness witli much fortitude, and towards the 
close of it expressed his willingness to die and that he 
was prepared for the same. 

He has left a wife and three children to mourn his 
loss — their bereavement is great — and thougli we may 
not be able to comprehend it, yet in the Providence of 
God all things work together for good. They can de- 
rive consolation from the fact that he was willing to 
die and prepared to leave this sin-stricken world for 
one of eternal joys. He was a kind husband — an in- 
dulgent master, warm in his attachments, devoted to 
his friends. We do not say he was faultless — weakness 
is a part of our nature — but his faults, whatever they 
were, were few when compared with his many virtues. 
The writer of this knew him well, and can truly say 
that in all his business transactions he never knew him 
to depart from the path of integrity or the line of recti- 
tude. ' D." 

MEGGINSON. 

Colonel George D. Meggixsox, a son of Thomas 
and Elizabeth Megginson, was born in Montgomery 
county, North Carolina, January 24, 1800. His father 
soon removed to Smith county. Tennessee, where his 
relatives were residing in 1<S53. He came to Clarke 
county in 1812. With whom is not now known. He 
was married when quite young to Miss Sarah X. Hill. 
He became a member of the Pigeon Creek Baptist 
church in October. 1830. His wife was a sister of 
Elder William Hill and of Travis Hill, also of the 
wife of Rev. John Talbert. 

He settled in Grove Hill about 1834. He then be- 
came a member of the Horeb church, was its clerk, 
and then one of the deacons. He was also a member 
of "Macon Lodge Xo. 7," and of "Grove Division 
No. 231, Sons of Tetnperance." 



376 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

He was a militia colonel under the old military regu- 
lations of the state, the general musters ceasing about 
1848. 

He had bought at Grove Hill the residence on the 
east side of the village, which had been occupied still 
earlier by Judge Powers as a hotel, and he kept this as 
a public house for many years. In 1851 the three 
hotels of the town were, this one on the east, kept by 
Colonel Megginson, one on the west, kept by Colonel 
Savage, a little beyond which was the court-house and 
then the public spring, and one on the north, at the 
east end of a row of shade trees and of "offices," 
kept by C. E. Woodard. 

The three, during circuit court sessions, would be 
well supplied with guests. 

Colonel Megginson, having quite a family connec- 
tion, received and entertained many visitors. He had 
seven sons and two daughters. The sons were Wash- 
ington, William T., Alfred, John L., A. Jackson, 
David A., and Edwin T. 

The daughters were, Caroline and Josephine. 

Colonel Megginson was an active, influential, useful 
man. 

He served his generation well. He died May 26, 
1853. The author of this work was with him during 
the last few hours of his life, and felt assured that 
more than ordinary evidence was given of an uncom- 
mon measure of the Christian spirit in regard to for- 
giveness, resignation, meekness, patience, love, and 
hope. The scenes of that night were very impressive 
and instructive, as the husband and the father, the 
Mason and the Christian, passed into the waters of the 
mystic Jordan, the dark, mist covered river, which we 



FAMTLY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 377 

call death ; upon wliose further shore, whether the 
crossing is made bj day or by night, human vision 
cannot look. Those who .knew him only amid the 
scenes of active live and in health and strength could 
not fully estimate the finer traits of his Christian 
character. 

Two children had gone before him. 

Miss Caroline Megginson grew up to womanhood, 
an amiable, excellent girl, a particular friend of Miss 
Mary Creighton, now Mrs. Williams. Disease then 
came upon her. (Quick consumption seemed to be the 
destroyer of this household, a disease whose ravages 
do not belong to this climate.) Her pastor, Rev. H. 
Creighton, often visited her. She gave good evidence 
of conversion, according to the religious ideas in which 
she had been instructed, and i-egretted that her feeble- 
ness of body would not allow her to make a public pro- 
fession of her Christian faith. Hopefully and peace- 
fully she went to sleep in death. 

Washington Megginson, having entered upon active 
live, died unmarried when about twenty-eight years of 
age. 

Mrs. Sarah Megginson, surviving her husband but 
a few short years, died in 1850. 

William T. Megginson, the second son, for several 
years the clerk of the Horeb Baptist church, married 
Miss Tucker. He died comparatively young, in 1857. 

Alfred Megginson, who seemed, for some years of 
manhood, to be strong and vigorous, also died unmar- 
ried when about twenty-eight years of age. . 

John L. Megginson, while earnestly preparing for 
the duties of active life, an exemplary member of the 
Horeb church, was also laid aside by disease from any 



378 CLARKE y\ND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

furtlier effort. He spent some time in Florida for his 
health. But neither the breath from the orange groves, 
nor the gulf and ocean breezes, enjoyed on that flowery 
peninsula, proved to be of much avail. Disease had 
its work to do. He returned home and died at the resi- 
dence of his aunt, Mrs. H. Hill, December 25, 1868, 
also unmarried, and also twenty-eight years of age. 
He had been in 1852 a member of the Grove Hill Acade- 
my, and by a somewhat singular combination of cir- 
cumstances the author of this work reached Grove Hill, 
on a visit from Indiana, just in time to be present at 
his friend's burial. 

A. Jackson MEGGiJSfsoN,.also a pupil, as were all the 
younger members of this family, of the Grove Hill 
Academy, married Miss Martha Pugh, a sister of Mrs. 
Grant, and resided in Grove Hill. He died in 1863. 

David A. Megginson, the only survivor of this once 
large household, married Miss Pamela Danzey. He 
resides a few miles south and west from Choctaw Cor- 
ner. He has five sons and five daughters. He is a 
member of the I^^ew Hope Baptist church. 

Edwin T. Megginson, born about 1839, one of that 
group of boys in Grove Hill that were together Cadets 
of Temperance, members of the Sabbath school, and 
members of one class at the academy, in 1852 ; who 
sometimes found the way to the academy building, with 
his friend William C. Coate, at the Sabbath twilight 
hour ; fell in the Confederate armv, at the battle of 
Shiloh, in 1863. 

Miss Josepuixe Megginson, for man_y years the one 
daughter and sister, married Rev. J. C. Foster. She 
died in 1869. 

Those were bright days in the Megginson home. 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 379 

wlien. enjoying so man}' comforts, opportunities for 
cultivation, and the luxuries of ease and refinement, 
her nimble fingers were accustomed to sweep the keys 
of the piano, and her voice was heard on the still even- 
ing air, in the songs that the girls of those days used 
to learn, and her young associates were gathered 
around her. 

That group has been broken up ; few if any of those 
voices are attuned now to the instruments of earth. 

But there are other girls in Grove Hill now, girls 
that have learned to play croquett. and that sing new 
songs. 

"We may well recall, but not mournfully, the bright- 
ness of the past. We must live in the present, and 
hope for the future. 

William Danzey was born in South Carolina, in 
ISOO, and came when a youth to Clarke county. He 
married a daughter of Colonel B. C. Foster. He is 
still living, residing south of Choctaw Corner near the 
home of his son-in-law, David A. Megginson. 

BOROL^GIIS. 

Thomas Boroughs was one of the prosperous plant- 
ers of Clarke in 1850. In 1852 he was residing on the 
Alston place that his children might be near the Grove 
Hill Academy, of which for a time he was one of the 
trustees. His plantation was situated several miles 
eastward. He had three sons, William M., Thomas, 
J., and Bryan ; and four daughtei's, Ann Elizabeth, 
Martha Jane, Rebecca S., and Mar}' L. 

Dr. William M. Boroughs was settled in Grove 
Hill as a young physician in 1859. He is now a resi- 
dent of Pineville in Monroe countv. The Monroe 



880 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Journal sajs that he ''is well and favorably known in 
this and adjoining counties. No man stands higher in his 
profession or as a good and law-abiding citizen than 
he." He was at the Grove Hill Academy in 1851 and 
1862, and a good student. 

Thomas J. Boroughs is a planter or farmer. He 
was married May 10, 1868, to Miss Mary C. Smith, 
near Gainestown. He is now residing not far from 
Lower Peach Tree. 

Dr. Bryan Boroughs, the youngest of the family, 
married Miss M. E. Dickinson and is settled as a physi- 
cian east of Bassett's Creek, near the water shed or 
Choctaw and Creek line. He is succeeding well in his 
profession. 

Miss Ann E. married Judge H. W. Coate ; Miss 
Martha Jane married Thomas Kimbell of Jackson ; 
and Miss Rebecca S; became Mrs. Stallsworth, marry- 
ing a citizen of Texas. 

Miss Mary L. Boroughs is still unmarried. Great 
changes have taken place with this family, as well as 
with many others, since the pleasant months at Grove 
Hill of 1851. The days of youth come not back. In 
that year just named, the children were attending 
school at the academy in the village ; Alfred A. Alston 
was boarding with them, the place having been his 
family home ; the teacher at the academy was entering 
anew upon Southern life, having spent many years in 
the West, amid its wilds and its remarkable growth ; 
and he enjoyed many a pleasant visit going home with 
the children and being entertained at their hospitable 
home. The group as then it was, in imagination he 
can see now, and he found them very pleasant young 
friends and associates. Into many bright eyes in the 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 381 

county of Clarke has lie looked since then ; but, as 
thought goes back to that group, he takes up this re- 
frain, The days of youth come not back !. 

Colonel Ransom Stutts was born in 1809. He re- 
moved from North Carolina in 1S37. He settled at 
first near Pine Hill and lived at different places in 
Clarke. He had three sons, of whom one is living, and 
three daughters, two of these still living. Colonel 
Stutts was engaged for a time in getting spar-timber 
and in the manufacture or collecting of turpentine. His 
title was acquired in the old militia musters. He died 
at his residence at Choctaw Corner August 19th 1872. 
The published notice of his death says: "Col. Stutts 
was one of our oldest and best citizens, and in his 
death our county has sustained a loss that cannot soon 
be repaired.'" 

H. W. BuRGE, well known over all the count}^ of 
Clarke, and in adjoining counties, having been for 
many years in public life, was born in the State of Ten- 
nessee, and came when about six years of age into 
Marengo county. He was there married, in February, 
1843, to Miss Mary Woodard, a daughter of C. E. 
AVoodard, and in January, 1844, became a resident of 
Clarke. He was elected Sheriff in August, 1851, and 
held the office for three A^ears. He was re-elected in 
1859. In the fall of 1862 he was appointed Tax Col- 
lector and held that- office until in 1865. He then re- 
tired to private life, spending the first four years of this 
])eriod in Marengo and again became a citizen of 
Clarke ; and in 1874 became Deputy Sheriff. In 
August, 1877, he was again elected Sheriff" which office 
he now holds. He has six sons living and three 
daughters. He has given good satisfaction in his of- 



38*2 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUXDIXGS. 

ticial lite. He is a member of the Methodist Church, 
an excellent neighbor, and friend, and citizen. 

An incomplete record of the sheriffs of the cc^uuty 
is here subjoinea. 

Elected iu 183(3 and probably in lSo2, B. C. Foster: 
in ISiO, Kobert B. Patterson ; in 1S44, Mark W. Har- 
well r in 1S4S, C. E. Woodard : in 1851, H. W. 
Burge : in 1S54, J. R. Bumpers : in 1857, Elijah 
Chapman ; in 1S59, H. AV. Burge : in 1862 and 1865, 
T. Carter ; in 1868, D. D. Dawson : in 1871, Jesse Pv. 
Bettis, who in about one year resigned and T. Carter, 
bv appointment completed the term : in 1874, E. S. 
Cobb 1 and in 1877 H. ^V. Burge was again elected. 
The names of the county sheriffs for the first twenty 
rears, from ISl^ till 1832, have not been furnished tor 
this record. 



KoBEKT B. P.vTTEKSt^tx, in 1840 elected sheriff, was 
for many years a prominent citizen. He was probably 
the most successful and skillful in electioneering of any 
man in the county. His address and manners were 
very captivating. He would win favor and votes even 
from those determined beforehand not to vote for him. 
It is said that he never became angry, never could be 
caused to manifest a hasty temper. He carried on a 
laro-e plantation north of Grove Hill and raised, in the 
davs of his prosperity, one hundred bales of cotton a 
veai'. He acquired, unfortunately, some bad habits. 
He drank and gambled, lost his property, and his 

* Iu the first part of 1S47 Johu B. Savage was sheriff : iu the latter iwrt of the 
year aud iu part of 1S4S >[. W. Harwell : ami iu July of 1S4S Johu W. Bell. In the 
fall of that year C. E. Winvlani was uudoubtedly elected. 



FAMILY KECORDS AND SKETCHES. 383 

bondsmen paid tor liiin large amounts, lie died at 
last an imbecile, in the county poor-house, his intellect, 
once bright and commanding, all in ruins, a dreadful 
example of the evils of strong drink. 

Edmuxd M. Doty, came from Georgia, originally 
from Xorth Carolina, and settled in 1810 near what is 
called the Rocks. He was in McGrew's fort, opposite 
St. Stephens, also in Landrunrs fort, near Clarksville. 
He died in 1889. 

E. S. Doty, a citizen of the county now in active 
life, was born at that home near the Rocks. He is 
acquainted with the facts of the Indian relics, pottery, 
and skeletons, and arrows found in a mound in that 
vicinity. 

In this same neighborhood are found those immense 
bones of- the zenglodon. 

E. S. Doty, having seen the growth of the county 
during his whole life, is familiar with its changes and 
its citizens; but by some means no special records of 
himself seem to be at hand. 

James Heakox came from South Carolina in 1841. 
Two sons, Robert Hearox and Reddin Hearox, and 
one daughter, now Mrs. Trawick, came before their 
father, in 1837. Some other brothers came before and 
at different times. One of these had a store at Choc- 
taw Corner. Only one of these is now living in the 
state, R. Hearon, who resides a few miles northeast of 
Choctaw Corner. 

Hugh Trawick, also from South Carolina, settled 
in the southern part of Marengo in 1818. He first 
bought an ""improvement" at Claiborne and gave 
seven dollars for it. Not liking that situation he 
passed northward, through what is now Grove Hill, 



384 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

and settled at length on Little Horse Creek. He had 
three sons and four daughters. Game was abundant 
in his neighborhood. Settlers along Bashi and Horse 
creeks were not then numerous. Bears could be seen 
in the day time passing along the forest pathways. 
One night a bear, which had seized upon a hog, was 
shot near the door-yard. The bear groaned and slowly 
retreated to some water and then disappeared. It is 
said that wounded bears, thus reaching water, will 
close up the bullet hole, stop the flow of blood, and 
recover from the wound. Panthers were then com- 
mon. All these first settlers mention the abundance 
of deer. Sometimes deer would be found in the woods, 
dead, with their horns locked together, showing how 
savagely they had fought and then starved and died. 
Fifty, deer would sometimes be seen along these creeks 
in a single day. Rattlesnakes were also often seen. 
H. Traywick killed, with some assistance, an old one 
with twenty-two young ones. At another time twenty- 
one young ones were killed. The old ones had sixteen 
or eighteen rattles. The deer, with their sharp h-oofs, 
would sometimes kill these dangerous reptiles. At 
one time many tame deer were kept in this neighbor- 
hood. The range for deer and for cattle was then 
excellent. The cane was ten and twelve feet high and 
the grass more abundant than in later years. Fires at 
the wrong season of the year are supposed to have 
destroyed both grass and cane. 

There were then in the woods many wild bees. 
The planters in the neighborhood often sold their cot- 
ton at McGofiins store. Five and six hundred pounds 
was then considered quite a crop. It sold sometimes 
for forty and even fifty cents a pound, according to the 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 3S5 

recollections of this family. The cotton and seed 
tinseparated could be sold for seven and eight dollars a 
hundred pounds. The cotton was at first packed by 
hand, the sacks weighing, when thus filled, about sixty 
pounds. H. Trawick was clerk of the New Hope Bap- 
tist church. He died in 1855, being about sixty-seven 
years of age. 

J. S. Trawick, one of the sons mentioned above, 
was married to Miss Hearon, about 1838. They now 
reside in Clarke county, not far from the north line, 
and not far from the old boundary corner post. Quite 
near to that noted post are the remains of an old build- 
ing the first location of Elam church, which was con- 
stituted February 24th, 1833, and removed to its present 
location in 1861. Of this church J. S. Trawick is a 
worthy member and one of the deacons. He possesses 
excellent traits of character. The loss of two sons in 
the Civil War was a great trial to the endurance and 
the genuineness of those principles of character. Pie 
has still sons living and two daughters. His home is 
among the hills which lie along the headwaters ot 
Bashi Creek. 

Rev. Jackson Daffin is one of the resident Baptist 
ministers of the county. Plis present home is near 
Jackson. Like the earlier pastors of this region he 
attends to farming and business interests for a support.* 

John D. Campbell was a soldier of the War of 
1812. He was a blacksmith from Pittsburg, Pennsyl- 
vania. He was poor and lonely. He passed on one 
afternoon the house of J. M. Finch. He staid over 
night in the neighborhood. He had a little bundle 

* His (laughter, Miss C'ariuk Baffin, \v;ib married to Dr. Horace E. W'hatley, 
February 3fl. 18TS. 

25 



886 CLAKKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

with him. The next day he disappeared. No trace 
of him was left on the surface of the earth. In 185S, 
in a dark cave near the old Mud Tavern, a cave some 
two hundred and liftj feet in extent, some visitors 
found a human skeleton. From some peculiar injury 
which the bones indicated, it was pronounced to be the 
remains of Campbell, the blacksmith. An open, rusty 
razor was h'ing beside the bones ; and it ma}" well be 
supposed that lonely and desolate in heart, discouraged 
in regard to life ; the unhappy man had there termin- 
ated with his own hand, his earthly existence. Such a 
fate is dark and sad. The remains were taken out and 
buried near the Fort Madison Church. 

Dr. SktLer, a dentist, has been for eight years re- 
siding on the Claiborne road near Grove Hill. He 
makes professional trips into adjoining counties and 
into Mississippi. He studied in the office of his father, 
Dr. Sigler of Claiborne, who has also performed pro- 
fessional labor in this county. He has a pleasant 
place, with fields, garden, and orchard around him, 
about a mile from the town. 

His wife is a grandaughter of Mrs. Jourdan of 
Washington county, who was an early resident near 
St. Stephens, and a daughter of James A. Pelham of 
Ifew St. Stephens. 

Mrs. Mathews, the wife of Josiah Mathews, has 
been a widow about twenty years. Some fourteen 
children have grown np in her home. 

The names of twelve are the following : David, 
Posey, Elijah, Marion, Josiah, John ; Nancy, Eliza- 
beth, Lncy, Aclisah, Amanda, Mary. 

Mrs. Mathews is drawing: to near to the fourscore 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKITTCHES. 387 

years of life, to which, "by reason of strength" some 
attain. 

'No particuhir records of this large family are at 
hand. Some representing it still reside in the county. 

Dr. Moody was one of the early physicians at 
Bashi. He came from Tennessee in 1819. 

Dr. James A. Allen resided for some years near 
Bashi store and practiced in the northern part of the 
county. His home is now in the south part of Marengo. 
His practice still extends into Clarke county. He has 
a good reputation for skill in his profession. 

MONCRIEF. 

Caleb Moncrief came about 1808. He passed 
through the Indian War, was in Fort Sinquefield when 
it was attacked by the Indians. 

His sons were Isaac, Joseph, Elijah, Samson, and 
William who died when young. 

His daughters were Nancy, who married Stephen 
Drury, Sarah, who married John Daniels, Tillisha, 
who nrarried James Baugh, Mary, who married Wm. 
Osborne, Martha, who married James Louder, Ann, 
who after her sister Mary's death married Wm. Os- 
borne, Rebecca, who married Alex. Osborne, and 
Betsey, who died. 

Caleb Monci'ief died October 4th 1856. He was a 
member of G-rove Division, of Macon Lodge, and of 
the Suggsville Chapter. A tribute of respect to his 
memory was oifered in the chapter by companion David 
H. Portis. S. Forwood, Secretary. 

He had been a prominent member also of Horeb 
Baptist church. The fainily at first settled east of 
Bassett's Creek, but soon removed to the west side. 



38$ CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDHSTGS. 

The location of the familj liome is maj'ked on page 
155. 

FINCH. 

HiGHT Finch came in 1816 from Halifax county, 
Korth Carolina, and settled abont five miles south and 
west of Suggsville. lie died many years ago. 

Mrs. Finch, liis wife, now Mrs. Henderson, was 
eighty-eight years of ago December 22d, 18Y7. She is 
a very intelligent and estimable woman retaining the 
use of her faculties remarkably. 

She seems equal in intelligence, in quickness of 
thought and perception, and in good judgment, to many 
intelligent women of sixty. She was the daughter of 
Rev. Joshua Wilson, who was born in 1760. 

Quite a remarkable instance exists in this family 
line of a number of contemporaneous generations. 
These may be presented to the eye and mind thus : 

1. Mrs. Henderson or Finch. 

2. Mrs. Davis, a third child of Mrs. Finch. 

3. Mrs. Johnson, a third child of Mrs. Davis. 

4. William Johnson, only son of Mrs. Johnson. 

5. Elizabeth H. Johnson, daughter of W. Johnson, 
and two months of age, while her great-great-grand- 
mother is eighty-eight years of age. 

All of these were living in Clarke in December of 
18YY, and all, except the little one, are members of the 
Methodist Church, Mrs. Henderson's membership dat- 
ing back about fifty years. 

Commencing in 1Y60, in this line there would be six 
generations born in one hundred and seventeen years. 

John M. Finch is a son"of Hight Finch and Mrs. 
Finch. He married Miss Hannah S. Foster, daughter 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 389 

of Colonel B. Foster of Tallaliatta. (His wife's grand- 
father, singular as it may seem, was his father, and yet 
no blood relation.) They have had eight children, all 
of whom are now living, and four of whom are en- 
gaged in teaching in Texas. 

Teaching is, to quite an extent, a characteiistic em- 
ployment of the Finch family. The uncle of J. M. 
Finch, the brother of Higlit Finch, remained in Frank- 
lin county, North Carolina. Of him Caswell Finch, a 
biograher, says : He was "a man of remarkable modesty, 
delicate sensibility, and retiring deportment, almost 
wliollj' given to books and teaching, in which employ- 
ment he spent, consecutively, forty of the best years 
of his life. In fidelity and efHciency, as an academical 
teacher, he stood without a rival in the region in which 
he lived." His son, Josiah John Finch, first cousin 
of J. M. Finch, was an eminent Baptist minister of 
North Carolina, pastor of the Baptist Church at Ra- 
leigh, occupying one of the first positions in the State 
''in efficiency, in influence, and in usefulness."" 

Similar qualities, modesty, usefulness, and a quiet, 
retiring deportment, characterize the Alabama branch 
of this family. It is not strange that three daughters 
and one son are now engaged in teaching in Texas, 
Miss L. J. Finch, one of these daughters, taught, in 
1874, at the Eclectic Academ}^ so called, in Clarke, 
where she gained many friends. 

The home of J. M. Finch is on section thirty-one, 
in township seven, and range four east. It is on a 
broad hill, and commands a fine landscape view. From 
the plantation, in a clear day, Claiborne can be seen, 
which is distant, and nearl}^ east, about twelve miles. 

* Report of Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. 



890 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

The place was first settled by Hopkins. The present 
house was built by J. K. Wilson in 1822. Cedar was 
used freely in its construction. Near by is a large and 
valuable cedar hammock. 

MRS. GREGG. 

In December 1817, a party from South Carolina, 
came through the Creek territory, crossed the rivers, 
and settled in April, 1818, on the west side of the 
Tombigbee, near Wakefield. Among these were Colo- 
nel Wilkins, G. Hicks, G. Strather, James Gregg, and 
Robert H. Gregg whose wife is the subject of this 
sketch. 

They found the Creeks manifesting a war spirit. 
The road through the nation was still but little more 
than a trail. In some places they had to cut a road- 
way for their wagons. Much excitement was prevail- 
ing at Claiborne on account of the Indian hostilities, 
when they passed that place. 

They found residing along the Tombigbee Dr. 
Strong, an Englishman, a practicing physician, Solo- 
mon Wheat, an old settler, also the Slade, Carney, and 
Munger families. The Gregg family occupied an old 
plantation the first year. The cotton raised in 1819 
was sold for twenty five cents a pound. The second 
year they occupied the Slade plantation, near the. Salt 
Works. They obtained supplies from Xew Orleans, 
sending to Mobile a messenger on horseback, and from 
Mobile to New Orleans by schooner. The schooner 
returning would come up to St. Stephens. The first 
steamboat, which Mrs. Gregg remembers, was called 
the St. Stephens, built about 1819. The first boat 
making trips was about 1821. 



FAMILY KECOROS AND SKETCHES. 891 

In 1820 the Gri'cgg family removed to Lower Peach 
Tree, on the west side of the Alabama river. It is 
said that the United States surveyors found on the 
bank here a peach tree and phiced the record of it on 
their field notes. They also found another several 
miles up the river. The trees are supposed to have 
been planted by tlie Indians. One place was called 
Lower, and the other Upper Peach Tree. The latter is 
now called Clifton. At the Lower Peach Tree was an 
old Indian village and burial ground. Early white set- 
tlers here were A. T. Smith, Duncan C Smith, Don- 
ald McLane, and Aaron Baldwin. Early physicians 
here were Drs. Howell and Zimmerman. James 
Thompson was an early Methodist minister. The 
first store of im[)ortaiice was kept by S. Boughton. 

R. H. Grco-ff liad brouo;lit from South Carolina a 
wliip-saw and hand mills for grinding corn. lie erect- 
ed a gin, probablv as early as 1821. Cotton begun 
to be raised quite extensively. Planters in those days 
sold their own cotton in Mobile, without being obliged 
to pass it through the hands of a commission merchant. 
R. 11. Gregg died in 1802. 

Mrs. (tkeCtG, whose 3'outh was spent in Chesterfield 
and Marlboro districts in South Carolina, was the 
daughter of William Strother who removed from 
Virginia to South Carolina in the Revolutionary War. 
Her mother was a daughter of Colonel Geok<jk LIicks, 
an officer of the American army during that war. She 
is now, 1877, nearly eighty-six years of age. She re- 
tains her faculties remarkably well, altliough she lias 
lost tlie ball of one eye from an attack of neuralgia. She 
is a very intelligent and interesting woman. She must 
have been through her years of active life noted for 



392 CLARKE AND ITS SUKKOUNDINGS. 

fine intellectual endowments and an excellent disposi- 
tion. Judging from what she is now, she must have 
been in her girlhood, three quarters of a century ago, 
one of the choice maidens of South Carolina. She has 
a daughter, wutli whom she makes her home, Mrs. 
Robins ; also a grandson and granddaughter. 

Her home is one of wealth, ease, and comfort. Thus 
is she quietly spending the evening of her long life. 

Colonel J. R. Robins, the son-in-law of Mrs. Gregg, 
resides at Lower Peach Tree. He is a member of a 
commission house at Mobile, and forwards large 
amounts of cotton. From two thousand to three thous- 
and bales are annually sent to Mobile from this landing. 
Colonel Robins is one of the wealthy men of Wilcox 
county. He was an officer in the Third Alabama Cav- 
alry, first captain, then major, and finally colonel. He 
served through the war, was in actions in the Western 
Army, commencing at the battle of Shiloh ; and after- 
wards was engaged in the eastern campaign, being 
slightly wounded in North Carolina. While multitudes 
fell during the years of that fearful strife, he lived to 
return home and to engage again in the peaceful pur- 
suits of agricultural and commercial life. 

Lower Peach Tree contains ten stores. Its yearly 
business at present may be placed at one hundred 
thousand dollai-s. It is one of the shipping places of 
cotton for eastern Clai'ke, being about a mile from the 
line in the county of Wilcox. Its school is called the 
Lower Peach Tree Academy. Montgomery Academy, 
not far distant, was founded in 1875. It is a flourish- 
ing institution. 

The county of Wilcox was organized in LS19, in 
which year the first three voting places were established, 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 393 

at Prairie Bluff, at Canton, and at AVilliani r^lack's. 
The fourth, in 1820, was at John Smith's, "near the 
Lower Standing Peach-tree," and the fifth in the same 
year at Allen & Saltiiiarsh's "near the Upper Standing 
Peach-tree." From these designations the two names 
liave been derived. 

Passing eastward from Choctaw Corner, at a dis- 
tance of some six miles, and near the county line, 
standing north of the roadside, the traveller beholds the 
Rural Academy. It is an unpretending building, 
with the above name over the doorway, in a location 
of more than ordinary beauty and attractiveness. As 
observed November 12th, 1S77, on a bright afternoon, 
which had followed a severely cold, frosty, icy morn- 
ing, the warm, glowing sunshine added doubtless to 
the loveliness of the scene. In front, southward, on 
the hill side, the young and older pines, so I'ich in their 
autumn green, fringed the sunny landscape. On the 
north side of the road, eastward and northward from 
the building, a dense forest, in which beech is abundant, 
extends for a considerable distance, appearing to en- 
close a jungle, dark and deep, as wild and romantic as 
the old primeval forest of the dark Choctaws, and 
Creeks, and Maubilians. At this spot, if the surround- 
ings do not materially change, many living and loving 
hearts may drink from fountains of knowledge. An 
imaginative teacher, enthusiastic and ardent, and child- 
ren gifte<l as so many are, would prize dearly the 
peculiar attractions of this spot. 

Not far away, one mile and a half east from the 
county line, is one of the landmarks for the passing- 
stranger, called 



394 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

THE CRAWFORD I'LACK. 

Dr. James W. Crawford, who was born in Ala- 
bama, became in childhood an orphan, went to South 
Carolina, returned to Alabama and was educated by 
his uncle, Judge Bridges, residing near Camden. He 
became a very active, energetic man, a genuine money 
maker. He bought of an old settler who had made 
"a deadening'' the above named tract of hmd, and 
began to improve it about the year 1S52. At this time 
there was much land in Clarke and AVilcox subject to 
entry; and, before long, an act was passed by Congress 
allowing actual settlers to enter, at twelve and a half 
cents an acre, an amount not exceeding three hundred 
and twenty acres adjoining what they already owned. 
If not land owners they could enter three hundred and 
twenty acres in all. This act enabled many to enlarge 
their plantations at very little. cost. 

Dr. Crawford married a wealthy widow, built the 
large honse now standing, and opened much new land, 
working about thirty hands. When the war com- 
menced, in 1861, he was active in raising troops by 
promoting enlistments, he fed the dependent women 
from his personal means, and did all in his power to 
promote the cause of the Confederacy. He was a 
member of the Methodist Church South. He died be- 
fore the war closed. March 16th, 1864. Before his 
death he gave instructions about his burial. Request- 
ing his body servant to be called, he instructed him to 
procure a good, substantial coffin to receive his remains, 
named the burial ground where he wished to be laid 
away to rest, and specitied the wagon to be used in 
conveying his body to the place of burial. He request- 
ed to be buried at two o'clock in the afternoon. He 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 395 

expressed no uneasiness in regard to dying. He left a 
son, now residing at Lower Peach Tree, and one daugh- 
ter. The hirge phmtation is now occupied by colored 
people. The large family mansion has a lonely appear- 
ance. Perhaps again it will be enlivened by joyous 
childhood, and by the presence of sprightly and beauti- 
ful maidens. 

Still further eastward, towards the Alabama river, 
resides Dr. James A. Southall, who was born in 
North Carolina in 1804, and who came to Alabama in 
I80O. He has practiced medicine about fifty years. 
His ride extends over the south-western part of Wilcox 
county and the adjoining parts of Clarke. He is an 
energetic, kind-hearted, liberal man. He does not re- 
fuse to practice among the poor, even when no pay is 
likely to be received. He is an earnest, active member 
of the Methodist denomination. (One fact the attentive 
and thoughtful reader may notice ; that so many of the 
physicians and lawyers of this region are Christian 
men, either Baptists or Methodists, and zealous and 
active in their religious as well as in their professional 
life. ) Dr. Southall's wife was a teacher, from the state 
of New York, Miss Vincent. She went first to iSTorth 
Carolina, was a private teacher in the family of Colonel 
Cox, was induced to come to Alabama, and came to 
Lower Peach Tree in 1859. She was a private teacher 
in Dr. Crawford's family, and taught in Monroe county 
three years, in Marengo county two years, and was a 
teacher in Dr. Hudson's family in Clarke county. She 
was married to Dr. Southall in May, 1866. Educated, 
intelligent, and cultivated as a teacher, as mistress of a 
southern home she has endeared herself to her many 
friends as a truly cultured and excellent woman. The 



396 CLARKE AND ITS SURKOUNDINGS. 

doctor's home, where she presides, is one of those 
many pleasant, sunny spots, for friend or stranger, 
lying between the two principal rivers of Alabama, 
which are scattered among the pines, over the lime 
hills, and in the valleys of the beech woods. 

Dr. Andrew Hutchinson came from Tennessee in 
early life. He lived near the Rural Academy. He 
was a physician for many j'eai'S, having a practice in 
the counties of Clarke and Wilcox. He was in com- 
fortable circumstances and he and his wife were very 
careful in regard to their children, until they had lost 
five. They then wisely concluded that perhaps more 
exposure was safe. Three other children then, three 
daughters, lived. The oldest is now Mrs. Yaughn. 
The other two, Miss Eunice and Miss May, are still 
school girls, for whom their mother diligently cares. 
Dr. Hutchinson was a great reader. He had, like 
many others, some peculiarities. He was a pleasant 
neighbor and friend. He died in 186-1. 

ALSTON. 

Lemuel J. Alston removed from Greenville, South 
Carolina, and settled on the Tombigbee river, opposite 
St. Stephens, in 1816. He owned two river planta- 
tions, one on the east, and one on the west side of the 
river. About the year 1S27 he removed to a location 
one mile and three-quarters north-east of where Grove 
Hill was afterwards founded. Tliis became known as 
the Alston place, and here, in 1836, he died, at the age 
of seventy-six; leaving of six sons and two daughters, 
one only surviving child, Colonel W. W. Alston. 

Colonel Alston was born in 1799, before the family 
left South Carolina. He resided on the plantation near 



FAMILY KECOKDS AND SKETCHES. 397 

Cxrove Hill at the time of his father's death, and con- 
tinued there for several years. He was probably mar- 
ried before the removal from the river plantations. He 
had six sons and six daughters, of whom one son only 
died in early infancy. Mrs. Alston, the mother of these 
children, was very careful in regard to the diet as well 
as the general training of her children. She was a 
woman of refinement, intelligence, and Christian princi- 
ple. Her daughters were noted for their fine personal 
appearance. Tiiey were quite distinguished for beauty 
among the girls of Clarke. Their father. Colonel Als- 
ton, was a man of wealth and of good position, and 
was noted among even Southern gentlemen for his ex- 
treme politeness. His home was quite a stopping place 
for the two brethern, Talbert and Creighton, when out 
from their homes on preaching tours. 

Mrs. Alston died at the age of thirty-eight, Septem- 
ber 21st 1841. 

The oldest daughter, Sarah, was married to Samuel 
A. Fitts, of Union Town, in Perry county. She is still 
residing there, having a large family of sons and 
daughters. 

Mary, the second daughter, married James A. 
Howze of Clarke, whose home was at "the Rocks." 
They are now both dead, but have children living and 
grown up. 

Laura married W. J. Howze of Enterprise, Missippi. 
They are still living near that town. 

C<^>RXELiA married J. J. Fegues, of Dallas countj. 
She died in 1S52. 

A.sTNE and Emma, young ladies residing at the home 
of their sister, Mrs. Mary Howze, in 1852, will be men- 
tioned in another connection. 



398 CLARKE ATVD ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Colonel Alston, who also made his home for some 
jears with his daughter, Mrs. Howze, died in 1859, 
being sixty years of age. Four of his sons are yet 
living. 

William Alston is a resident in Lamar county, 
Texas. 

Thomas Alston died a few years ago in that county. 

Joseph J. Alston is residing in Paris in the same 
county. 

Dr. Alfred A. Alston, the youngest of the family, 
was about one year of age at the time of his mother's 
death. He was for some years a student at the Grove 
Hill Academy. He was a very pleasant and winsome 
boy, although occasionally wayward. He had a quick 
memory, was an excellent declaimer, and a bright 
attractive scholar; generous, and kind, and intelligent. 
He studied medicine, married Miss Ulmer, one of the 
beautiful girls of Clarksville, and at length removed to 
Texas. He is now living in the town of Paris, in the 
€0unty of Lamar. 

Many of the former inhabitants of Clarke are now 
in the great state of Texas. Very definite information 
in regard to their present circumstances has not been 
obtained; but they can hardly have forgotten the hills 
and the pines, the springs and running streams, tlieir 
early associates and teachers, and all the old familiar 
scenes in the bright days of their youth. Their hearts 
are not as fresh now, perhaps their lives are not as 
sunny, and perchance they are looking forward to the 
end of earthly changes, to the brighter home above. 

Dr. Lemuel L. Alston, the only brother remaining 
in the state of Alabama, settled at Grove Hill as a 
physician about 1852. He had but lately completed 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 399 

his course of study, was very affable and courteous, 
endowed by nature with a very line personal appear- 
ance, and was by culture very polite and refined. It 
was soon manifest that in his chosen profession he was 
humane, kind, gentle, and careful. A more consider- 
ate and tender family physician none needed to desire. 
In the fall of 1854 he was married to Miss Jackson of 
Gainestown, a daughter of James M. Jackson, and con- 
tinued to reside at Grove Hill. Mrs. Alston was found 
to be a valuable accession to the social life of the town. 
In the course of years, one daughter, Marj^, and two 
sons, Lemuel and AVilliam gladdened their home, and 
became attendants of the Grove Hill Sunday school. 
At length Dr. Alston removed from Grove Hill and is 
now with his wife residing at Orrville. The children 
grew up, as the years came rapidly upon them. Miss 
Mary was married to Dr. B. P. Heryer, a jihysician at 
Tuskaloosa, where they now reside. The elder son, 
Lemuel Alston, is there also, engaged in business ; and 
William W. Alston is at this date, (1877,) a member 
of the State University, as a student.'" 

Dr. Alston and his estimable wife are left therefore 
alone in their home in Dallas county, and years are 
weighing upon them. The meridian of life will soon 
be passed. 

Tlius it appears that of the large and wealthy Alston 
family no one now remains in the county of Clarke. 
The river plantations and the old homestead are in the 
hands of others, and where eleven children sported 

* Ala;- for parcMital hope;; I February iid 1878, W. W. Alston was shot by a fel- 
low student and almost instantly killed. President Smith testified: "I believed 
him to be one of the most fearless young men in college, hi all my transactions 
with him, I found him to be extremely honest, reliable and trustworthy." An- 
other witness testified: ''Alston was sober and gentlemanly — was a member of 
the church and a Good Templar. 



400 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

amid the shades of mulberries and china trees, and 
gathered the tlowers and summer fruits, probably not 
one of them will ever tread again. But on the records ot 
social life and business and professional life in "old 
Clarke," from 1816 up to about 1866, or for fifty 
years, the name of Alston isindelibly impressed. 



YI. 



CREIGHTON. 

Family tradition states that an old lady with two 
sons and a daughter came from Great Britain to South 
Carolina a few generations ago. 

The two sons were named Thomas and John. The 
daughter's name was Jane. She was married to a 
McClure of South Carolina, an uncle of James McClure 
of Clarke county. 

Thomas Creighton, the elder of the two brothers, 
had two sons, John and William. 

William Creighton had two sons, Samuel and Chap- 
man, r 

These were among the early settlers of Monroe 
county. 

Samuel Creiguton came into Clarke county and 
married Miss Julia Keel. He had two daughters, 
Eliza and Rebecca. He died about 1848. Miss Re- 
becca Creighton, who was called a very fair and love- 
ly girl, died as she was entering womanhood. 

Miss Eliza Creighton became a wife, Mrs. Wilson, 
then a widow, and is now the second wife of Rev. Will- 
iam Hill. Their quiet and pleasant home is near Horeb 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 401 

cliui-cli, of which church Brother Hill i.s tlie hig'hly 
esteemed pastor. 

Of the sons of John Croighton the brother of Will- 
iam no trace has been obtained. 

Edward Creighton was an early resident in Wash- 
ington county, and in central or noj-thern Mississippi 
are two or three families bearing tlie Creighton name. 

Jonx Crkighto.v, the younger of the two brothers 
first named, the brother of Thomas, was the father of 
HiKAM Crkigutox, and removed from South Carolina 
to Clarke county, with a part of his family, in 1818. 
His sons were, Thomas, Joseph, John Jun., and 
Hiram. His daughters were Yirgim'a, Margaret, Ann, 
Sarah, and Rachel. 

Thomas and Joseph Creighton went from South 
Carolina and settled in Illinois. John Creighton Jun. 
went to Georgia. All the other children probably 
came with their parents to Clarke county. 

YiKCfiNiA married William Hamilton. Makoarp:t 
married Edmund M. Portis. Anx married Jeremiah 
Thomas. Sarah was married before leaving South 
Carolina to Robert S. Woodard. Raoiikl married 
Moses Woodard. 

The name, Creighton, seems to have been origin- 
ally Scotch. It is found as far back as the sixteenth 
century, when lived a noted Scotch gentleman, James 
Creighton, also written Crichton, who was remarkable 
for his intellectual ability and was a prodigy in learn- 
ing, who is called by the Edinburgh Review " the 
Admirable Creighton^'''' who is generally known in 
American literature as the "Admirable Crichton." 

It is probable that some of the Crichton or Creigh- 
ton family went to Ireland and resided for a few ^&\\- 
2G 



402 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

erations on that Emerald Isle. Other members of 
that early family remained in Scotland. 

Hiram Creighton, coming when a .young man from 
South Carolina, married Miss Mary Thomas, who in 
1817, then fourteen years of age, had left Georgia with 
her father's family, and had found a home in the north- 
ern part of this new county. He settled near Bassett's 
Creek, and near the site of Fort Sinquefield. In 1834 
he was ordained as a Baptist minister, became pastor 
of the Horeb church, and died in 1859. He was gen- 
erally known in Clarke and in adjoining counties. A 
more full account of his life and labors will be found 
in the chapter on the religious history of the county. 

SONS OF n. CREIGHTOX. 

1. T. A. Creighton, married to Miss Fannie Carter 
ot Suggsville. They have had seven sons and three 
daughters. One daughter only is living, the wife of 
Rev, W. B. Williams of Marengo. They have a pleas- 
ant residence on the old Grove Hill and Claiborne 
road. T. A. Creighton has a large plantation, and is 
an energetic, successful, prosperous farmer, a member 
of the Horeb church, well known and respected in the 
county of Clarke. In common with many others he 
lost quite an amount of property in consequence of the 
Civil War. 

2. John Creighton married Miss Martha Hill, 
daughter of Travis Hill, who died in 1859, at the age 
of twenty-one, leaving two young children. He after- 
ward married Miss Amanda Allen of Choctaw Corner, 
was in the army of the Confederacy, was a prisoner for 
many months at Rock Island, Illinois, and died in 



FAMILY KlX'OltDS AND SKETCHES. 408 

Clarke county in lsT3. He also had seven sons and 
three daughters. 

Fie was for some years a deacon of the New Hope 
church. 

3. Ja:\[ks Hiram Ckkioutox married Miss Maggie 
Hickson November 2, 1865. He was in AVood's cav- 
alry regiment in Mississippi, returned liome and set- 
tled on the family plantation, built in a new location 
where he still resides. He is an active member of 
Horeb church, for many 3'^ears Sabbath-school superin- 
tendent, a zealous Good Templar, and ready for every 
good word and work. He is a stanch Baptist, a firm 
friend of Southern interests, quite enlarged and liberal 
in his views, and in" every way an excellent citizen. 
ilis wife, tlie daughter of a Baptist minister, is an 
active, earnest, devoted woman. Such '' vineyard '^ 
laborers are blessings in any community." 

4. WiLr.iE E. Creighton, a very amiable, winning 
and attractive youth, a good student, with excellent traits 
of moral character, died in Lauderdale county, Missis- 
sippi, at the age of eighteen years and four months, in 
the service of the Confederacy. 

At the time of his death one of his sisters was in the 
North, and for many months all communication by 
mail, or by any other means, between herself and kin- 
dred had been cut oft. About this time, however, in 
the fail of 1863, a postal route was opened for letters 
from the South through Fortress Monroe in Yiririnia, 
these letters being subject to inspection by Government 
officials. A letter thus sent was received at Cedar 
Lake. Indiana, from Mrs. E. II. Woodard of Grove 
Hill, containing the following paragraph: "Sister 

* .1. H. (ifiirliton was ordained as pastor of Horcl) clnirch in 1882. 



404 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Martha's youngest brother, Willie, died a few weeks 
since in Mississippi. He left home in April last, just 
eighteen, a tall, handsome youth, to join his brother 
Hiram who has been absent two years; he soon con- 
tracted disease and died." This short and guarded ex- 
pression passed the inspection of the officials and filled 
hearts that had loved him with sadness. 

The following Memorial Poem was at once written 
aud published in the Baptist paper of Indiana: 

" WILLIE E. CREIGHTON." 

* " So death has come again, oh restless death ! 

Aud snatched away from earth another life. 
Amono- the thousands jielding uii their breath, 

During this time of anguish and of strife, 
Our youngest brother Willie too has gone to sleep. 

What can his mother do but o'er his loss to weepV 

The news comes through the Fortress. Words are few ; 

A line or two to pierce our hearts with grief; 
A speck of cloud within a sky all blue ; 

A word that claims our instant, full belief 
We fill the picture up, we hear his parting sigh ; 

Away from his loved home we see our Willie die. 

Not one of seven sisters could be near. 

To press a tender kiss on his fair cheek ; 
Beside his dying couch to shed a tear ; 

Or cheering, hopeful words of love to speak : 
But 'tis some joy to think, a brother kind and good, 

Beside him, in those last, sad, trying moments stood. 

Thus he has passed away, that fresh bright boy. 
Whom busy thouglit brings up before the mind, 

He who was always full of life and joy. 

Sportive yet gentle, cheerful, true and kind ; 

We mourn his early loss, our tears uubidden fiow ; 

We taste again that cup which holds so much of woe. 

T. H. B." 

* The writer had recently lost by death his youngest sister. 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 405 

Daughters of II. C'reightcm. Of these there were 
seven, Rebecca J., Mary Ann, Nancy A., Sarah, Martha 
C\, Margaret M., and Lizzie. 

Rebecca married Lewis Jarvis, who came from 
Xorth Carolina. They had four daughters and two 
sons. One son died in the Confederate army. Mrs. 
Jarvis. then a widow, afterwards married — Chamber- 
hiiu. They had one daughter, Ardelia Claudine Cham- 
berlain, now a fair and lovely girl, whose home is with 
tlie family of Judge Woodard at Grove Hill. 

Mary Ann married John G. Williams, a son of an 
early resident of the county. They have had five sons 
and five daughters. One son died in childhood. All 
the others are now living. 

Nancy married David Byrd, also a son of an early 
resident in the county. They liave no children. 

Sarah married Robert C. Cabaniss of Marengo. 
They had two sons and two daughters. Of this family, 
})arents and children, oidy two are living. Miss Mollie 
and Hiram C. Cabaniss. These two have their fortunes 
yet to make. (1877.) 

Martha C. was mai-ried in 1855 to T. H. Ball, then 
Principal of Grove Hill Academy. They have one son 
and one daughter. 

Margaret M. was married in 1859 to William G 
Fountain, who died a few years afterwards, leaving one 
son, Carlos, and a daughter, Lucy. Mrs. Fountain after- 
wards married H. T. Wheeless. 

Lizzie married John T. Hart, from Georgia, in 1871. 
They have two children. 

The Creighton family until about 1820 were Presby- 
terians; but the next generation became Baptists; and 
of the twenty-three luimed above, included among sons 



406 CLAllKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS, 

and daughters, all but three became members of Bap- 
tist churches. Of the children mentioned above, the 
generation now growing up, about twenty are members 
of Baptist churches. 

Thirteen boys and young men, bearing the Creighton 
name, grandsons of Elder Hiram Creighton. industrious, 
energetic, and enterprising now, may none of them ex- 
pect to equal in learning the "Admirable Creighton" 
of Scotland, but may well strive to imitate the virtues 
of their grandfather and to bring no discredit up(m the 
family name. 

THE THOMAS FAMILY. 

Originally from South Carolina this fanuly lived for 
some years in the state of Georgia. There were four 
brothers, Joshua, Jeremiah, Jonathan, and Butler. 
Joshua Thomas resided first in Randolph county, Geor- 
gia, then in Jasper county, and in IS 17 settl d in Clarke 
county, north of Grove Hill. He had four sons. One 
died. The others were Jeremiah, Ila, and John. He 
had six daughters; Nancy, Martha, Elisabeth, ]\[ary. 
Fatima, and Jennie. 

Nancy married R. Stanley and went to Tuskaloosa. 
Martha married John Withington and removed to Tus- 
kaloosa. Elisabeth married William Hopper and went 
to Texas. 

Fatima married David Stanley. 

Ila Thomas married Mary Edwards. 

Jeremiah Thomas married Ann Creighton and went 
to Texas. 

The Thomas famil}' of 1817 is now represented by 
an interesting, intelligent, sprightly girl, Miss Sallie 
Thomas and a younger sister. These are grand- 



FAJIILY KEOOltDS AND SKETCHES. 407 

daughtei-8 of Ila Thouuis, ami daughters of William 
Thomas. 

Mary Thomas married II. Creighton, who became 
the pastor of Iloreb Church. Their family residence, as 
elsewhere mentioned, was near Bassett's Creek. En- 
deavoring to cross this creek, one day, before a bridge 
was built, on the ordinary log crossing, with an infant 
in her arms, Mrs. Creighton had a narrow escape from 
drowning. The water was then high and the current 
rapid. The nurse girl, who was close behind her mis- 
tress, becoming dizzy and beginning t*) fall, seized her 
mistress' dress and so pulled her with the little child 
into the foaming, sweeping current. Fortunately the 
rapid waters bore them near the bank and to some 
friendly overhanging boughs, and they all reached the 
dry land in safety. This providential preservation of his 
young wife made a marked impression upon her hus- 
band's mind and heart. 

Mrs. Creighton was fourteen years of age when, as 
Mary Thomas, she came with her father's family into 
this county, in 1817. She has lived here sixty years, 
and has discharged with great fidelit}' her varied duties 
as a pastor's wife and the mother of a large family of 
sons and daughters. She has enjoyed much home hap- 
piness, and has met with trials and sorrows. The loss 
of her youngest son, "our Willie." was severely felt. 
She was left in 1859, at the time of her husband's death, 
in comfortable circumstances; but of some of those 
comforts, b}' the changes of circumstances which took 
place a few years afterwards, she was deprived. She 
now makes her home with her son, J. H. Creighton, 
visiting at pleasure her other children; and her many 
grand-children and her numerous friends always find at 



408 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

her home a glad ' welcome. Possessing naturally a 
gentle and winning nature, and having shared richly in 
the influences of Christianity, although now past the 
three score years and ten of ordinary life, she retains 
that gentle and peaceful spirit, and is waiting here, 
while appreciating and enjoying religious privileges, 
prizing good preaching, and sharing the respect of all 
around her, waiting till her time shall come to pass 
bey<^nd the bounds of earth and to join those who 
have gone before. In some respects, above other 
women, the wives of ministers of the Gospel of Christ 
ought to exemplify the loveliness of Christian woman- 
hood; and that loveliness well has Mrs. Marj^ Thomas 
Creighton exemplified through a long and useful life.* 

WOODARD. 

Charles AVoodard came from Soutli Carolina and 
settled in Clarke connty in 1818. He had seven sons, 
"William, Moses, Robert. Charles E., Jesse, James B., 
and John T. ; and three daughters, Sarah, Mary, and 
Jane. Of the sons, all having had large families of 
children, Joiix T. Woodard. only, is now living. 
Robert axd Moses married sisters, the sisters of Rev. 
Hiram Ci-eighton. Ja:mes B. Woodard married Miss 
Harrison, a sister of William, John, and Bartlett Harri- 
son, whose mother is now living, or was very recently, 
at the advanced age of about one hundred years. 

Jesse .Woodard married Miss Trawick of Clarke. 

William WooDARi) married Miss Sarah Drinkard and 
died in Sumter county. 

* Mrs. ]SIarv Creighton died at the home of Mrs. Lizzie Hart, in 
tlie early morning of April 18, 1S8'2, in the eightieth year of her age, 
the oldest pastor's wife of the county. 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 409 

JoHx T. married Miss Sarah Morgan. James and 
Moses both removed to Texas. 

Robert and James B. Woodard were Methodist 
ministers. Robeut Woodakd had three sons also 
Methodist ministers. One of these, Robert S. Wood- 
ARD. now in ]\[ississippi, has become quite prominent 
among his brethren in Florida, Alabama, and Missis- 
sippi. 

Sarah Woodakd married William McChire of 
Clarke, and iinally removed to Louisiana. 

Mary Woodard married Benjamin McClure, a cousin 
of William mentioned above, and is now living in 
Marengo, in the eighty -fourth year of her age. 

Jaxe Woodard married William Morris. The 
family removed to Texas where she still lives. 

A son of Mrs. Sarah McClure, John S. McClure, for 
some years a photogr.aph artist, is now a Methodist 
local minister in Mobile. 

Charles Woodard, the head of this large family, re- 
moved to Clay Hill, about one mile north of the county 
line, where he died in December 1843, being eighty-six 
years of age. Mrs. Woodard removed to the liome of 
her son, James, in Texas, where she died, at the same 
age of eightj'-six. 

From a j)ublished memorial of Mrs. Sarah Creightox 
Woodard, written by lier son, Rev. Robert S. Wood- 
ard, dated at Brandon, Mississippi, Sept. 4, ISTH. the 
following extracts are made. (In the published copy 
the name is written Woodward, but is not thus written 
in Clarke county. ) 

"My dear mother, Mrs. Sarah Woodward, passed 
away from earth, to her long-coveted home in heaven, 
August 11, 1876." ^'The image of her Christ-like ex- 



4 It) CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDlNGy. 

ample is daguerreotyped on the hearts where lier 
name is so tenderly enshrined/"' 

"She was born in Kershaw district, S. C December 
28, 1799 ; was married to Robert S. Woodard in 1S17 ; 
professed rtdigion and joined the Methodist Episcopal 
Church in 1S20. Aboutt his time they removed to 
Clarke county, Alabama, but finally settled in Marengo 
county, where my father died at the age of thirty-nine 
years — having been a local preacher about ten years. 
* "" * My mother was left under this dark cloud of wid- 
owhood, with a family of eight children, most of whom 
were quite young.'' " With an unswerving purpose to 
adopt no measures, nor receive any counsel that she 
did not consider consonant with the will of God, * * 
she laid her burdened heart, with all her lacerated 
affections, at the foot of the cross, and sought the 
guidance of the Spirit of God. She was wonderfully 
sustained, and from that hour through life, to do the 
wall of God seemed to be her meat and drink. She 
esteemed his service her cliief delight, and the assur- 
ance of his loving favor n)ade every duty a pleasure, 
and every cross a blessing. Her meek and lovely 
spirit ever told to the world tliat Christ was to her a 
satisfying portion. Few women possessed a calmer, 
clearer and more deliberate judgujent, combined with 
such inflexible integrity of character." 

"For one burdened with so many cares, she read 
extensively and understandingly. But the word of God 
was her daily companion, and next to the Bible was the 
Guide of Holiness, and the lives of such women as 
Mrs. Fletcher, Hester Ann Rogers, Madame Guy on, 
etc." 

" She was peculiarly gifted in prayer, and often led 
the devotional exercises of the prayer meeting with 
great efficiency.'' 

"She saw more beauty, more sanctity, more of the 
goodness of God, and nun-e of heaven, in the Sabbath 
than any one I ever knew. She always rose earlier on 
that day than any other." 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 411 

"Aiul well do I remember our Sabbath evening 
reviews of the Sabbath-school lesson and of the ser- 
mon." 

" Nor can 1 ever forget a secluded spot in the forest 
where she often took me in the evening twilight to 
pray. The soft pressure of her hand on my head, 
as she asked the benedictions of heaven on her baby 
boy, is as fresh to-day as if it had never been removed." 
(This son was born soon after his father's death.) 

"I have exchanged near one tliousand letters wij:h 
her since I left the maternal roof. Every one contained 
some message, 'litly spoken,' in the way of admonition 
or encouragement to faithfulness in the work of the 
ministry. ■''■ - - On one occasion, while passing 
under the rod of affliction, I received a letter from her 
to this effect : ' My son, I am sensibly impressed that 
you are passing through some severe trial or affliction 
of some kind, but I am living at the feet of Jesus in 
your behalf.' '" 

She died peacefully and triumphantly, at the home 
of her son, Rev. T. C. Woodard, in Marengo county, 
in the seventy-seventh year of her age. She was sure- 
ly a remarkable woman. 

Charles E. Woddard married Miss Martha Y. 
Rivers of Franklin, Tennessee, a very intelligent and 
estimable woman, small in person, ever active in doing 
good to others. 

In January, ISM, C. E. Woodard removed from 
Marengo to Grove Hill, where he engaged in planting, 
kept a hotel, owned a mill, was justice of the peace, 
sheriff of the county, and first mayor of the town of 
Grove Hill. He had live sons, Henry Mas<jn, Richard 
J., Robert C, Simeon T., W. Frank ; and four daught- 
ers of wliom one died in infancy. Robert C. died in 
bovhood. H. Mason died of vellow fever in 1853, in 



412 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

early mauhood. The other sons are still living, active, 
enterprising citizens of Clarke. 

The oldest daughter, Mary, was married to H. W. 
Bnrge. 

The second, Rebecca A., was married in 1851 to 
D. Baffin, editor of the Grove Hill Herald. 

For about eight years she enjoyed her relations in 
life, in her pleasant home at Grove Hill, and died July 
25th 1859, at the age of twenty-four years. "She was 
a loving, dutiful daughter, a fond sister, a faithful, ex- 
emplary wife, a devoted mother, and an affectionate 
friend." 

" A light she seemed to cheer our path, 
A gentle flower that shunned disjilay, 
A bud which death too early scathed ; 
Too soon the loved one passed away." 

The youngest daughter, Carrie E., was married to 
Dr. A. Y. Bettis, son of Judge Z. L. Bettis of this 
county. 

C. E. Woodard was a member of Macon Lodge, and 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, a man of 
excellent traits of character as a citizen and a friend. 
He died in 1853. 

Richard J. Woodard commenced active life as a 
clerk in Grove Hill and afterward in Mobile. He be- 
gan business on his own responsibility at Grove Hill in 
1853, the death of his father and elder brother, in the 
terrible visitation of yellow fever that fall, leaving him 
to carry on the business pursuits of the family. He 
was one of the few who recovered from that fearful 
fever. (Plis father had that summer visited for the first 
time the city of New York, and had purchased quite a 
large stock of goods. ) He remained in the store for 



FAMILY EECOKDS AND SKETCHES. 413 

seven years with good success, aiul bocaiue known in 
the commercial world of Mobile and jN^ew York as a 
careful, correct, and prosperous business man. 

During these years of business life, credit having 
been to quite an extent the general mode of doing busi- 
ness, quite a large indebtedness in his favor had accu- 
mulated ; and when at length these debts were paid in 
c<:»nfederate money, which became an abundant currency, 
he, like so many otliers then doing business in the 
South, lost largely. When large debts were paid in a 
currency that very soon became worthless, it is no won- 
der that many merchants were obliged to fail. Their 
New York debts could not be paid. 

In July, 1854, R. J. Woodard, then a young mer- 
chant, was married to Miss E. H. Ball, oldest daughter 
of Judge Hervey Ball, of Cedar Lake, Lake county, 
Indiana, and returned with her to his home at Grove 
Hill in October of the same year. 

In 1861 he was elected County Treasurer, and re- 
elected in 1864. From April 1862 to May 1866 he was 
Clerk of the Probate Court, and was elected Judge of 
Probate in May, 1866. This office, in consequence of 
the working of the "re-construction laws," he held only 
about two years, becoming disfranchised by having held 
the office of postmaster under the United States and 
then under the Confederate government. Being thus 
released from official duties he spent some time with 
his family in Indiana, and returned to Grove Hill in 
January, 1872. Since that time, residing in his old 
home, Judge Woodard has resumed under the workings 
of the new laws the duties of a citizen, and in July, 
1875, was appointed County Superintendent of Educa- 
tion. He was re-appointed in October, 1877. In all 



414 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

his official duties he has been found capable and faith- 
ful; as in business life he was obliging, prompt, and 
accurate; a good salesman, an upright officer. He is 
very hospitable and sociable, and at his home very 
many guests find a cordial welcome. 

Judge AVoodard has had six children : Marietta H., 
Eugenia H., Charles H., Adelaide R., Rosa Delle who 
died in early infancy, and Carrie Eloise. Of the five 
th^t are living, some have entered active life and the 
others are preparing for that life. The parents and 
all the children are members of the Grove Hill Baptist 
church; of which church Judge Woodard has been for 
many years the clerk. 

Simeon T. Woodard has spent most of his life at 
Grove Hill. He was a pupil at the academy here for 
several years; and was one of the pupils at Rockville, 
with M. S. Bettis, R. H. Flinn, F. T. Payne, Huricosco 
Austin, Henry Austill, William Drane, and a number 
of others, in 1853 and 1854. At Grove Hill in the 
years from 1848 to 1853 he was one of a group of 
boys, among them the sons of Judge Powers, the two 
sons of James L. Williams, Edwin T. Megginson, W. 
C. Coate, and Alfred A. Alston, who formed quite a 
part of the life of the academy, who were members of 
the Sabbath school, and who carried on for some time 
a section of Cadets of Temperance. Among these boys 
S. T. Woodard was a general favorite and quite a leader, 
an officer in the section of cadets; and having a quick 
memory and a graceful delivery he was reliable for 
exhibitions and any exercises on public occasions, and 
was willing to be criticised and ready to improve. He had 
scarcely entered upon manhood and its activities when 
the events of 1861 called him, with multitudes of others. 



FA:\riLY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 415 

to the tented tiekl,aiid to the stern realities of battles, lie 
enlisted as a private at the re-organization of the Grove 
Hill Guards, May 6th 1861. He was apijoiiited Orderly 
Sergeant May 26th and was elected Captain April 27th 
1862, which position he held till the close of the war. 
He was engaged in thirty-two battles, besides nnnierons 
skirmishes and was several times wounded. At the 
battle of Chancellorsville. May 3d, 1863, he was cap- 
tured and was imprisoned in the Old Capitol at Wash- 
ington City. Here,although the confinement was close, 
food was abundant, and May 22d he was exchanged. 
He was again captured at Petersburg, Virginia, April 
2d, 1865, and was now held as a prisoner of war at 
Johnson's Island. Here not only were the sentinels 
very strict but tlie rations were scanty. 

The amount for the day's allowance was about suffi- 
cient tor one good meal. Captain Woodard says that 
he often saw Lieutenant Fleming (a fellow prisoner 
from Grove Hill) eat his day's allowance at one sitting 
and go without until the next day's rations were sent 
in, nnless some fortunate friend provided him with ex- 
tra food. Captain Woodard received funds from friends 
outside, to whom he was allowed to write, (among tliese 
was Judge Ball of Cedar Lake, Indiana, ) and, witli the 
mone}', bought at the suttler's flour, coffee, sugar, and 
other necessaries, and so managed to subsist comforta- 
bly. He was released on parole June 24tli 186.5, and 
sent to Kiclimond,Yirginia. The war had now closed, 
but Captain Woodard remained about three years in 
^'irginia, at Greenville and at Staunton, and returned 
to Grove Hill in March, 1868. In April he commenced 
business as a merchant, and in May, 1876, removed to 



4T6 CLARKE AND ITS SDRROUNDINGS. 

Jackson and opened a store, where he remained until 
the close of this year, 1877.* 

Captain Woodard possesses a very pleasant, genial, 
and generous disposition ; he has not forgotten the 
"Cadet" lessons of his boyhood, but has firm and 
strict temperance 23rinciples ; he is a true friend to 
what he considers the interests of the South; and is 
ojie whom the white and colored citizens alike would 
do well to' place in positions of responsibility in civil 
life. He is not one to betray a trust, nor one to go be- 
yond what is just and right for all. He has met with 
severe domestic alfiictions; but there may yet lie before 
him years of honorable effort, and of success, and of 
happiness in life. 

W. H. WooDARD, spending his boyhood at Grove 
Hill, a student for several years at the academy, en- 
listed in the Confederate army, was a prisoner three 
months at Fort Delaware, and eighteen months at 
Point Look Out. He returned to Grove Hill in April, 
1865. He engaged in farming, then was clerk for 
Daffin and Foster, then was a merchant, and in 1871 
collected the revenue tax. He was elected county 
treasurer in 1874, and was re-elected in August 1877. 
He was married, Feb. 3, 1867, to Miss Hannah Pugh, 
daughter of E. S. and Amelia B. Piigh.f 

MRS. E. H. WOODARD. 

Among the pines of Georgia, in Columbia county, 
in the town of Appling, the county-seat, twelve miles 

*Iii the spring of 1878 Captain Woodard retired from business and removed to 
a plantation in "the Fork." In May he was nominated as Democratic candidate 
for representative to the Legislature. 

+ Mrs. Woodard died Oct. 20, 1878, leaving one daughter, an interesting and 
lovely child ten years of age. Miss Nonie Woodard. 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 417 

from the Savannah river and twenty-tive miles from the 
city of Augusta, about the time when a number men- 
tioned in these records commenced earthly existence 
in Clarke, was born Elisabeth H. Halt., oldest daugh- 
ter of Colonel Hervey Ball, who was then a prominent 
lawyer in Columbia county. This county lies on the 
Savannah river, up which for quite a distance De Soto 
with his Spaniards passed along with that noted Indian 
queen with whom he first met not many miles below 
the neighborhood of Appling, 

In this Georgia home, while little children were 
growing up in South Alabama of whom then there was 
no probability that this child would ever hear, the little 
dark-eyed girl spent her fiist years, and learned her 
first lessons connected with human life. She visited 
her mother's ancestral home in New England, spent a 
little time in the valley of the Connecticut, and then 
her father made his home in one of the wilds of the 
West, and she passed the years of her girl-hood at 
Cedar Lake, in Lake county, Indiana. There she en- 
joyed health and physical vigor, and had no superiors 
in intelligence, in cultivation, in skill in those accom- 
plishments pertaining to her years and station, in the 
circle of her acquaintance; and there were not a few 
who considered her to be highly favored in regard to 
personal appearance. 

When the years of girl-ln^od were ending she vis- 
ited for some time in New England and in the city of 
New York, where she had many relatives, and in the 
fall of 1851 came from New York to Grove Hill, taking 
the ocean route, and became a teacher in the Grove 
Hill Academy. In the summer of 1853 she visited 
her Indiana home and at Cedar Lake was married in 
27 



418 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

July, 1854, to Kichard J. Woodard of Grove Hill. 
She returned with him in the fall of that year, down 
the Mississippi river, by way of New Orleans, and 
made her home at drove Hill, and has been since 
then, for twenty-three years, thoroughly identified with 
the interests of Clarke. She visited her parents, and 
brothers, and sisters, at Cedar Lake in the summer of 
1860; and again in the fall of 1868, after one brother 
and one sister, who greeted her in 1860, had been re- 
moved from the relationships of earth. She remained 
at this time until after the. death of her father, but at 
length returned again to the home at Grove Hill. 

She has devoted quite a portion of her life to teach- 
ing. Her first pupils in 1851 and 1852 were, Martha 
Jane Boroughs, Kebecca S. Boroughs, Mary L. Bor- 
oughs, Sarah Brittenham, Mary Ann Brittenham, Mercy 
Beckham, Mattie Beckham, Mary E. Bradford; Clarinda 
J. Coate, Sophia Chapman, Celia Chapman ; Virginia 
L. Dickinson, Pamelia Danzey, Ellen Dubose ; Leena 
Jordan, Elisabeth Johnson; Josephine E. Megginson; 
Sallie Powers, Jane Bogue, U. Melissa Pugh, Martha E. 
Pugh, Virginia Pugh, M. Cornelia Pugh, M. Vii-ginia 
Pugh, Mary Preston; Martha E. Savage, Mary L. Sav- 
age, Alice A. Savage; and Carrie E. Woodard. 

In later years the daughters of several of these 
named above have been among Mrs. Woodard's pupils. 

From 1854 until the exciting times of 1861 Mrs. 
Woodard gave her attention mainly to the discharge of 
her family duties, to the interests of the Sabbath school, 
and to securing, with the aid of others, the erection of 
the Gi-ove Hill Female Academy. The building was 
erected in 1857. Miss R. J. Underwood was teaching 
at the old academy, in connection with E. A. Scott, in 



/ 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 419 

1856, and with her aid and especially with the assistance 
of Mrs. Dickinson, Mrs. AVoodard organized a sewing 
circle, for the purpose of obtaining funds to erect the 
building. Children's clothing and fancy articles of 
various kinds were made, and a fair was lield at the 
court house. The amount realized by this effort was 
about two hundred dollars. John A. Coate. then re- 
siding in town, gave a lot for the new building, which 
is vei-y ])leasatly situated in an oak grove, between the 
Claiborne and Jackson roads, in the south part of the 
town; and the fund raised by the ladies was increased 
by individual donations. Mrs. Dickinson was Presi- 
dent of the Grove Sewing Circle. Mrs. Woodard Secre- 
tary and Director, Miss Underwood Treasurer. Mrs. 
Woodiird drew the plan for the building, at the request 
of the Building Committee, and her plan was carried 
out in all its details. Another fair was held at the new 
building, which also amounted to about two hundred 
dollars, and this fund was expended in painting and 
completing the Female Academy. Mrs. Woodard spent 
about two month's time in sewing for each fair, assisted 
by Miss Underwood. The last fair was held in the 
spring of 18.58, and sclutol was soon opened in the new 
building. 

When Edward A. Scott was teaching at Grove Hill 
he organized a military company among the pupils of 
his school, the Grove Hill Cadets. Public exercises 
were held at the court house when a flag was presented 
to them. To deliver the address and publicly present 
the flag Mrs. Woodard was chosen. Some of those cadets 
who listened to her stirring words that day as tliey re- 
ceived their new flag, on which were emblazoned the 
stars and stripes, a few years later fell on the red fields 



420 CLARKE AND ITS SURKOUNDINGS. 

of blood while thej were following the stars and bars. 
Probably in a greater degree then we are inclined to 
suppose, circumstances make us what we are. 

Relations of various kinds changing very much in 
the year 1861, Mrs. Woodard, for the benelit of her own 
children and others, again resumed the duties of a 
teacher, and in September took charge of the Female 
Academy; little thinking when making efforts to secure 
its erection that she so soon would preside within its 
walls, and that twenty years after her plan took shape 
in one of the substantial and useful buildings of the 
town she would still there be teaching her own children 
and children of her earlier pupils. For forty weeks her 
first session continued during which time she lost not a 
single day. She continued teaching for the next three 
years, until the war closed in 1865. She had at one time 
forty pupils, and during most of these four years a full 
school for one teacher. These four were trying years, 
financially and in many other respects, to all the pursuits 
carried on in the county; and a teacher's position was no 
exception. The Grove Hill Military Aid Society was 
organized of which Mrs. Woodard was Secretary. One 
of her reports shows that the mothers and daughters 
around Grove Plill contributed nobly to relieve the 
suffering and supply the needs of their sons and broth- 
ers in the tents and on the battle fields, and that her time 
out of school hours must have been diligently occupied. 
Some of her pupils during these years were, boys being 
then admitted, Ada Figures, Alice Scruggs, Jesse 
Turner, Gross Turner, L. Drinkard, C. Drinkard, Mor- 
gan Carleton, Rufus Fountain, Virginia Fountain, Vir- 
ginia Dickinson, Lizzie Dickinson, Augusta Dickinson, 
Mary Alston, Lemuel Alston, Hannah Fugh, Rebecca 



FAMILY RECORDS AND SKETCHES. 421 

Pugh, Virginia Pugli. and three Miss Sniitlis. who were 
boarders in her family for nearly two years. Several 
of the above named pupils were also boarders. 

In August. 1874. Mrs. Woodard again commenced 
teaching in the same building, and is still c(»t»tinuing 
(in 1877) what seems to be a favorite employment. It 
is twenty-six years ago this fall since she first began 
teaching in Grove Hill, and when she will retire from 
these duties she at present does not know. 

Her family is usually large. Many teachers and 
others liave been boarders for years in her home, among 
them Miss Underwood, Miss Stearne, Miss Heath, Miss 
Mary R. Price, Miss Cynthia A. Price, Rev. J, C. Foster 
and wife, and Miss Mollie Pegues; and she has many 
visitors. She has led therefore, for twenty-six years, a 
busy life. She has kept up during these years quite a 
large correspondence. 

That she has had some influence in molding society 
around her cannot be doubted. Although of Xew 
England Puritanic and Huguenot descent, she has been 
always strongly attached to her native South ; and 
was considered a stanch secessionist by her Cedar Lake 
relatives during the years of the terrible war. She has 
quite a large circle of acquaintances and friends; by 
whom she is recognized as an intelligent, active, earnest, 
Christian woman. With a pleasant home, and grateful 
children settling in life around her, and a truly provident 
husband, the elements for earthly happiness seem to be 
her favored lot. 

Mrs. Lucy Hix Peguis Davidson was born in 
South Carolina in 1786. She was of English and 
Huguenot descent. Her grandfather Peguis came from 
France. Her mother was a daughter of General Hix, 



422 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

perhaps Hicks, of Virginia. Lucy, of course, was lier 
own individual name. In 1803 she was married to 
Richmond Gates Davidson of Xorth Carolina. She has 
fifteen grandchildren, twenty-three great-grandchildren, 
and three great-great-grandchildren. She delights to 
have live generations around the same table. She, 
like Mrs. Henderson — Mrs. Finch — is a member of 
the Methodist church, uniting in 1832. She came to 
Clarke county and made her home with her only son 
in 1833. 

Her mind, by one acquainted with her, is spoken of 
as "rare and powerful"" notwithstanding the infirmity 
of age, and she has quick sympathies and a warm 
heart. In her the needy and suftering ever find a 
friend. " 

The observant reader will hardly fail to notice how 
many aged people have been mentioned in this chap- 
ter, residing in this pine belt. Surely this climate is 
fav(n-able to longevity. 

And the thoughtful reader may also notice how 
many large families are named, ranging fr(^m six and 
eight up to twenty-five. Is not this another indication 
of health and vigor ? 

*Mi-s. Davidson died April 9, 1880, in the ninety -fifth year of her age. "I am 
dying, Willie," she said to a grandson: adding, ''I have all my faculties still.' 



CHAPTER XIV. 

SKETCHES OF WOMEN. 

" The sweetest flower earth knows 
Is the Rose of Ahibama." 

THIS chapter is devoted mainly to the preservation 
of some memorials concerning a few of the 
daughters of Clarke county, who have made their 
homes outside of its borders. From the characteristic 
feature of the memorials the materials must be scanty ; 
yet there are those, doubtless, now living, who could 
have furnished many interesting records ; but such are 
scattered, no one knows where, over this broad land. 
If any of these should ever chance to glance into this 
chapter, they may be sure that the author regretted the 
scantiness of his material, so far as this chapter is con- 
cerned, and that he would gladly have inserted on 
these pages other names and other facts if he had pos- 
sessed the means of obtaining them. 

And among the many young maidens who at differ- 
ent times have left the quiet and, perchance, secluded 
homes of their youth, and have gone into other counties 
and other states with the men to whom they had 
proved attractive, and to whom they had given their 
hearts and their hands, may be placed first, without 
any question, the name of 

AINSWORTU. 

Brewer writes Hainesworth. 



424 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

( )f the girlliood of Miss Ainsavorth ver^^ little seems 
now, in this county, to be known. Mrs. Finch, now 
Mrs. Henderson, an aged lady mentioned in a former 
chapter, remembers seeing her, but retains no particu- 
lars concerning her. She married a young lawyer, 
John Gayle, who having graduated at South Carolina 
College, in 1813, born in South Carolina in 1792, came 
in 1813 to Claiborne, where he read law and was licensed 
to practice in 1818. He became a solicitor, a repre- 
sentative in the state legislature, a judge of the su- 
preme court. Speaker of the Alabama Legislature, 
and from 1831 to 1836, Governor of Alabama. He was 
afterwards a member of Congress and then Judge of 
the United States District Court. His home was then 
at Mobile. 

The date of Miss Ainsworth's marriage is unknown. 
It was probably not later than 1822 and may have been 
a few years earlier. Of Mrs. Gayle it is said, that she 
was "a lady of rare talents and accomplishments, wlio 
dispensed the hospitalities '' of the Governor's mansion 
at Tuskaloosa "with a dignity and grace never sur- 
passed." To her the author of the "Star Spangled 
Banner,'"' Francis S. Key, sent by the President of the 
United States as Special Commission to Alabama in 
1835, addressed a "beautiful poem " as a "personal 
compliment'"' to herself, which poem, it is said, "was 
published and greatly admired." Garrett sa^^s con- 
cerning her : " She was a general favorite, and admired 
by all for her many shining virtues and talents which 
adorned social life." 

Before the year 1835 closed, this accomplished 
woman died of locked-jaw, " universally regretted by 
the people of the State." Her eldest daughter married 



SKETCHES OF WOMEN. 425 

Dr. William B. (^rawford, a leading physician of Ala- 
bama; the second married General J. Gorgos, who 
was Chief of Ordnance of the Sonthern Confederacv ; 
the third married General Hugh Aiken of South Caro- 
lina ; and the fourth married Thomas L. Boyne, a law- 
yer of New Orleans. One of her sons, Dr. Matthew 
Gayle, resides in Alabama ; and the other, Captain 
Richard H. Gayle, in New Orleans. 

Governor Gayle, who took Miss Ainsworth from 
her home in Clarke and placed her where she at length 
graced the mansion of the highest officer in the state, 
was called, in his day, one of the best speakers and 
writers in Alabama. AVhere Miss Ainsworth was 
born, where or how educated, cannot here be recorded. 
Plaving been married possibly as early aa 1820, it is 
not probable that her birth place was between these 
two rivers ; yet from the well established fact of her 
residence here she may justly be classed among the 
daughters of Clarke. The statements above concern- 
ing her daughters and sons are given on the authority 
of Gan-ett. 

Between 1820 and this year of 1877 many have gone 
into parts of Alabama, into Mississippi, and into Texas, 
of whom no record can here be made. Indeed, a space 
is here of thirty years, during which time many mar- 
ried and left the county, with not a single name to 
occupy this space in these records of woman. 

And so we pass to 1850. 

MISS ANNE ALSTON. 

'• Girl of the sunny South, 

Brisfhl, round tliy rosy mouth. 

Dimples and smiles are ever at i)]ay : 

Sweet in thy fountain eyes, 

Mirrored, the azure skies 

Tell us of ansrels and heaven alwav."' Meek. 



426 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Borii very near the then budding village of Grove 
Hill, probably about the time the county seat was re- 
moved from Clarksville, Miss Anne Alston was one of 
a cluster of beautiful maidens who, coming into earthly 
existence between 1830 and 1840, added much to the 
charms of life in their households and among their asso- 
ciates, around Grove Hill, for the succeeding ten or 
fifteen years. In 1852 Miss Anne had just entered 
upon wonianhood, and was then residing with her sister 
Mrs. Ilowze, at that place between Grove Hill and 
Cofteeville so noted for containing, on the plantation 
around it, so many remains of the zenglodon. She 
often visited Grove Hill, coming in the Howze family 
carriage, to attend the Academy examinations, or the 
Sabbath school anniversary, or religious meetings, or to 
visit her friends. Like other members of the family 
she was characterized by a marked politeness, and she 
also manifested a winning loveliness. In dress, in style, 
in attractiveness, in intelligence, in winning ways; with- 
out apparent pride or hauteur; secure in her own 
social position, and showing respect to intellect, to 
education, to literary and ecclesiastic position ; Miss 
Anne Alston was a beautiful example of the true South- 
ern girl of wealth and culture, in tliis advanced period 
of Southern life between 1850 and 1860. She did not 
long remain in the social circle of Grove Hill after 
reaching womanhood, but was soon married to L. B. 
Brown, of Enterprise, Mississippi. In that town Mrs. 
Brown and her husband still reside. They have an 
only child, Alston Brown, who has now entered upon 
the years of manhood. It is not likely that Mrs. Anne 
Brown has forgotten the home of her girlhood amid the 
pines of Alabama. 



hiKETClIES OF WO^FEX. 427 

MI8S KMMA II. ALSTON. 

The youngest of six sisters, a pupil at the Grove 
Hill Academy in 1849, in 1852 attending a larger 
academy ''up the country,"" Miss Emma soon com- 
pleted her education, enlivened with her presence the 
home of Mrs. Howze and the social circle at Grove 
Hill, sharing in the mildness, loveliness, and attractive- 
ness of her older sisters, and married N. Alston Will- 
iams of North Carolina. Some years ago they removed 
to Lamar county, Texas, where they now reside, having 
a family of six children. Mrs. Emma Williams may 
not remember the early muscadines which she helped 
to gather on the old plantation, she may not remember 
all who remember her bright image in girlhood, but she 
cannot forget, amid the wide prairies of Texas, and as a 
happy mother surrounded by her children, the first 
home which her childhood knew, the home in which 
she was left without a mother; she cannot forget all the 
scenes and associations of this county of Clarke. 

-MISS MAKTHA C. OREIGHTOX. 

One of that same cluster of maidens already men- 
tioned, who enlivened with their presence the central 
parts of the county for some twenty years. Miss 
Creighton was of about the same age with Miss Emma 
Alston, or a year or two younger ; and was, like her, 
a member of a large familj^, one having five sisters and 
five brothers, and the other having six sisters and four 
brothers. In each family eleven children grew up to 
manhood and womanhood. Miss Martha was a 
daughter of Rev. Hiram Creighton, and was born 
amid the pines, not far from the old Fort Sinquetield, 



428 CLARKE A^'D ITS SURROU^^DIXGS. 

in the plantation home, about six miles from "Grove 
Hill. Her next younger sistei'. Miss Margaret, " the 
pearl." was a special companion : and in the woods, 
after flowers, beside the streams, watching the squir- 
rels and the birds, the two sisters became fond of na- 
ture, indulged in many a day dream, and grew in years, 
in vigorous health, and in their native beauty. To- 
gether also they attended school ; learned, like all their 
compeers, to ride the well-trained saddle horses ; and 
made many a long horse-back tour, with their young 
companions, in the bounds of their own county. Like 
the other girls of this group Miss Creighton reached 
the verge of womanhood. She had health ; talent, rare 
in some directions ; was strangely intuitive in reading 
character and in discerning truth ; possessed remarka- 
ble cheerfulness and vivacity : was endowed by nature 
with large selt-control : and was blessed with a genuine. 
healthful piety. 

April 19, 1S55, she was married to Rev. T. H. Ball, 
then in charge of the Grove Hill Academy. 

She spent a few weeks as a resident in tlie town, 
boarding at Mrs. AVoodard's with Mrs. Alston, who 
had entered upon married life a few months before, 
the home of whose girlhood was near the location of 
the old Maubila, and with whom an acquaintance com- 
menced which was renewed in after years, when their 
Toung children played together in the quiet shades of 
that same town. 

On Wednesday the 15th of August of this year, she 
left Clarke county, going on board a steamer at Gos- 
port, in company with her husband, for a residence in 
the ^N^orth. The route of travel was not then the same 
as now. and, for her, that trip was somewhat romantic. 



SKETCHES OF WOMEN. 429 

and presented scenes strange and new. It may be 
briefly sketched. It was already night-fall when the 
steamer from Mobile reached the Gosport landing. 
There was placed carefully on shore the lifeless dust 
of the once beautiful form of Miss Sallie Harris, who 
a few years before was almost peerless in beauty among 
the daughters of Clarke, who had married a physician, 
had gone to the ^S^orth, who was taken sick and there 
died. As her remains returned to find a resting place 
in the dust of her native clime, another and a younger 
one of those daughters, an acquaintance, if not a neigh- 
bor, herself now a young bride, with bright hopes and 
unknown capabilities, starting upon her life's journey, 
stepped upon the same boat, entered the cabin, and in 
a few minutes was for the lirst time in her young life 
outside of the county of Clarke. Father, mother, sis- 
ters, brothers, friends and kindred dear, all were left 
behind ; and with only one friend whom she had ever 
seen before, she went forward into an unknown future. 
It was midsummer. The water was low. The boat 
reached Claiborne, and, there landing, these two trav- 
ellers went up that long flight of steps, when a stage 
coach was found waiting on the height, and they took 
the land route, through that sultry night, over valley 
and hill, for Montgomery. Rail-road cars by waj^ of 
Atlanta conveyed them to Xashville, Tennessee. It 
was now Sa,turday, and no further progress that week 
could be made They visited the State-house, then a 
fine building and containing among its curiosities an 
Egyptian mummy. They looked over the city. On 
Sabbath they were present at public worship in two of 
the city churches. In the gray dawn of Monday morn- 
ing they crossed the Cumberland on a bridge, and 



430 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

again in an old fashioned stage coach, on a good road 
and with good horses, were on the route for Louisville. 
Reaching this city before night-fall on Tuesdat they 
crossed on a ferry boat the great Oliio, and then this 
young bride fr<jm Clarke was amid the strange scenes, 
and manners, and customs, and usages, of what seemed 
then to her a somewhat rude, an unpolished jS^orth. 
But southern Indiana was even then quite " hdosiery.'^ 
The next" day, on board the cars of a western road, they 
rapidly passed to the north of the state, and on Thurs- 
day morning were where the cool breezes from Lake 
Michigan are refreshing to tourists from the South. 
Twelve miles were now to be passed over in a private 
conveyance. Thursday afternoon the welcome vehicle 
arrived, and Friday before noon the end of this 
journey was reached, the beautiful Lake of the Red 
Cedars, where new parents and sisters and brothers 
greeted the Southern stranger, as she took a daughter's 
place in the home of Judge Hervey Ball of Cedar Lake. 

It thus appears that a trip from South-Alabama to 
the north-west corner of Indiana in 1855 occupied eight 
days." 

Mrs. Ball remained in tlie West, spending a year at 
Amboy in Illinois, till December of 1858; when she 
visited her home, taking a trip down the Mississippi 
river from St. Louis to New Orleans, accompanied by 
her husband and a son two years of age. This visit 
enabled her tt) be present in the family home at the 
death of her father in 1859, and also at the marriage of 

* In January, 1878, the author left Mobile Monday at midnight or Tuesday 
morning, and Wednesday, the next day, at ten in the evening, via St. Louis, forty- 
six hours from Mobile, he reached his home at Crown Point, six miles from Cedar 
Lake. And now, 1882, with only one change, one may step off the cars on the 
west bank of this same lake, coming from Mobile via Louisville, Kentucky. 



SKETCHES OF WOMEN. 431 

her sister Margaret. Slie returned to Indiana in the 
spring of 1860, and in the fall went with her husband 
to Newton Center, near Boston, where she spent three 
years, enjoying some of the most cultivated and retined 
of New England society, visiting Boston and its celebri- 
ties, attending university and seminary commencements, 
hearing the best scholars and orators of that Athens of 
America, and improving rapidly the advantages offered 
by intercourse with Boston w^ealth and culture. In the 
fall of 1863. her husband settling as pastor at Crown 
Point, six miles from Cedar Lake, she again became a 
resident of Indiana, and entered upon the duties and 
relations of a pastor's wife in the West, forty miles from 
the city of Chicago. 

For these duties she proved herself to be well litted, 
and became an excellent teacher of infant classes in 
Sabbath school. For several years she held the respon- 
sible position of educating in social relations a number 
of young ladies, members of the Crown Point Institute, 
of which school her liusband had charge. Her intuitive 
power of reading character, perfect self-control, and 
freedom from partialities, with her cheerful and uniformly 
pleasant disposition, fitted her for directing, molding, 
and influencing in this position with great success. 

She has two children, Herbert S. Ball, born at Cedar 
Lake July 6, 1856; Georgietta E. Ball born at Newton 
Center, near Boston, now in the city of Newton, 
January 1, 1861. 

In April, 1874, accompanied by her daughter, she 
re-visited the home of her youth, and was joined after- 
wards by her son and her husband. She enjoyed exceed- 
ingly meeting once more with her mother, sisters, 
brothers, and old friends, from whom she had been 



432 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

separated for toiirteen years. The rio\vers,aiul fruits, and 
scenery of her earliest home proved very cheering and 
refresliing- to her somewhat exhausted energies. AVhen 
the summer was closing the family returned together, 
by a very pleasant route, all rail from Jackson, to their 
Crown Point home. Mrs. Ball is now in the prime of 
life, but she needs the invigorating inlluence of a year's 
rest and sojourn in that delightful clime and amid 
the scenery where her young tastes were formed and 
her young intellect and heart received their first im- 
pressions. 

She is now engaged in the woman's Christian tem- 
perance nnion work, in Sabbath school and mission 
work, besides attending to the other duties of her posi- 
tion. At Xewton Center she was appreciated and 
highly esteemed, and gained many friends; and in the 
West she has ever attracted the contidenee and the re- 
gard of the community. She has made interesting 
visits in choice portions of Xew England, in the city of 
New York, in Indianapolis, and in Chicago, winning 
regard wherever she has been. 

Her husband hopes that the circumstances of life 
will permit her ere long to spend at least a winter in 
the bounds of Clarke, and there again to renew her 
youth, and then to accompany him on a proposed tour 
to Europe.* 

It may be added here, that but for the existence of 
Miss Martha C. Creighton, and the possession of those 
endowments and graces which made her what she was, 
this volume would never have been. This book is in 
some sort, therefore, a tribute to her character. 

*Pro^^dence permitted Mrs. Ball to re-^isit her old hoiiu' in the winter of 1861, 
and to visit her mother shortly before that mother's death. 



SKETCHES OF WO.Mi:>. 4.'i3 



MISS CAHRIK I{. .lAKVl! 



A gratiddangliter of Rov\ Hiram Creiglit<jij, herfatlici- 
having died some years before, Carrie R. Jarvis, tlien a 
gii-1 of eleven, in tlie summer of 1860, accompanied her 
uncle TJev. T. TI. Ball, to Indiana, and joining there hei" 
aunt and cousin, became a member of their family the 
same as an adopted daughter. In September of that 
year this family removing to Xewton Ceritre, near Bos- 
ton, Massachusetts, for a three years residence, she 
there attended the Newton Public School, one of the 
best schools in the state, and enjoyed special advanta- 
ges, in the Xewton Sabbath School, iii learning vocal 
music. 

< )n Xewton hill she learned to "'coast." Sharing 
advantages among some of the most favored children 
in New England, mild and amiable in disposition and a 
tine looking girl, she became a general favorite in that 
community. In the fall of 1863 her uncle's family re- 
tirning to Crown J*oint Indiana, she became there a 
member of the Crown Point Institute, studied instru- 
mental as well as vocal music, and became at length a 
teacher. In 1872. May 15, she was married to Dr. H. 
H. Pratt, who liad a few months before graduated from 
the Rush Medical College, Chicago, and went to reside 
in Des Plaines, Illinois, seventeen miles from Chicago. 
Here, as in her uncle's home at Xewton and at Crown 
Point, she gained mj^ny friends and finally became a 
teacher in the Des Plaines Graded School. 

In December 1875, Dr. Pratt having considered it 

desirable to accept an opening in a larger place, and 

being about to remove to Brookfield, Missouri, Mrs. 

Pratt closed her connection with the school. The fol- 

28 



434 cla?;ke and its suiikoundings. 

lowing extracts from some published news items show 
the estimate placed upon lier in that community. 

''The resignation of Mrs C. R. Pratt, who has had 
charge of the intermediate department of the Public 
School of this village since ]S[ovember, 1874, is a source 
of unusual regret to her pupils and the patrons of the 
school. During her administration she has won the 
hearts of her charge, and when the tie of teacher 
and pupil was finally severed, and the last farewells 
were spoken, their grief could not longer be controlled, 
and the tears came unbidden to every eye. It almost 
seemed as if the children could not be reconciled to the 
fate which takes their loved teacher from them. Though 
a strict disciplinariau, she has been a kind, patient, and 
faithful teacher, and her memoi-y will ever remain green 
in the hearts of those to whom she has so greatly en- 
deared herself.'' 

"A souvenir, consisting of a full set of silver knives, 
forks, and spoons, was procured and presented her upon 
the last day of the school." 

"During Christmas week many beautiful presents 
were made her by her loving and grateful pupils." 

Teachers, at least, can appreciate such an estimate 
of qualities as the above statements imply and present. 

Mrs. Pratt, since early in 1876 has been a resident of 
Missouri. She is satisHed with her home an<l lot. 

Miss E>L>rA T. Portis was one of the talented girls of 
Clarke. The daughter of Colonel Portis of Suggsville. 
she shared the choice advantages, which wealth, before 
the Civil War, and opportunities, bestowed upon her. 
A flag-presentation address, which slie delivered, will 
be found in another connection in Chapter XL 

She was married in 1864 to Wm. De Yampert of 
Perry county; son of Rev. L. Q. C. De Yanipert, a 
Methodist minister, said by one who was acquainted 



SK Kiel I IS OF WOMKN. 4P)5 

with him to !)(■ "" one of the |iuresV and plaiiu'st iiioii he 
cvei- knew," who aecuiniihited a hirge fortune by his 
own efforts, lie sold one cotton crop about the year 
18«>0. and took home from Mobile in y^old $75,000. He 
is said to have accuMinhited pro|)erty worth one million 
<.f dollars. He took into .\rkansas $25,000, and laid 
it out in the best land he couhl tind, for his son. Mrs. 
I--mina De Yampert's husband is therefore now a farmer 
in Ai-kansas, where the family reside. They have three 
sons livint!,-, and are succeeding well in life."" The au- 
thor regrets that no more full particulars can be given 
concerning iier. 

That some, at least, since 1864, have left this county 
in circumstances similar more or less to the six wln^ 
have been named, cannot reasonably be doubted; but 
who they are and where tliey dwell, who, without the 
knowledge can declared 

These six mnst therefore app-ear here by themselves, 
as representative girls and women; with the understand- 
ing that from their county went out also sisters many, 
who ha\e brought no discredit u[»on the homes wliere 
rhey were born, nor upon the friends wlio watched the 
opening buds of ])romise of their girlhood. Happy will 
tliey be if on that one bi'ight roll of all the choice ones 
of our race their names shall be foiiml written. 



Inserted at the close of this chapter as its most ap- 
propriate i)lace, is the following brief notice of one who 
was for a time here among us although not stricth^ of 
us, a native of a different clime and accustomed to quite 
diflei'ent ways. 

*.Mrs. He VMnp'rl vi-itc I llic home nl' li< r yiuiili in 18*8. 



43() CLAItKK AND ITS ST'IiKOCNDlNGS. 

smri'sox. 

Very singular are the meetings and tlie (;lianges in 
locality among- the jieculiarly migratory inhabitants of 
the United States. 

In 18(i0, at Newton (Jenter. in jNlassachnsetts. Miss 
Carleton, the daughter of ('ha])lain (Jai'leton of Charles- 
town, was one of the teachers of the infant class of the 
Sabbatli s.chool where Herbert S. Ball attended. She 
became also a special friend of Miss Carrie Ti. Jarvis. 
acqnainted with W. B. Williams, and of course through 
the children an acquaintance and fi-ieiid of Mrs. M. C. C. 
Ball. She was an excellent young lady, a faithful Sun- 
day school teacher, living in the home of her childhood, 
within sight, from the top of a neighboring hill on which 
stands the JSTewton Theological Seminary, of the Boston 
State House. She in a few years married and went to 
Philadelphia. 

When in the spring of 1874: iVCrs. Ball and her daugh- 
ter visited Clarke county, on board the steamei- going 
from Mobile to -Jackson, she met with Mrs. Allen, 
formerly Miss Henrietta Pace one of the school girls at 
West Bend in ISfiO, and her husband Dr. Allen. She 
noticed an agednian, a stranger as beseemed, in the 
cabin, and inquired of Dr. Allen who that was. He 
said his mime was Stimpson, that he was from P)oston. 
and was g<»ing up the river to visit a son and daughter- 
in-law. Dr. Allen introduced the stranger to Mrs. Ball, 
who recognized the name and then the man; and from 
him she learned that Mrs. Stimpson, formerly Miss 
Carleton of Newton Center, was then residing with her 
husband upon a river and a cotton plantation, just in the 
edge of Marengo, near Pickens' Landing. And soon, 
within a few miles of her plantation home on the Tom- 



ski:t('Hp:s of women. 4;*)7 

bigbeo. was one of her infant class at Newton ('enter, 
now a youth eighteen yeai-s of age, an I'xpert hunter as 
well as a cultivated student, visiting his cousins in the 
vicinity of his mother's childliood home. A singular 
change indeed of circumstances, that tlie Boston girl, 
reared among the hills of New England, almost within 
sound of the waves that dashed on the shore where the 
May Flower was moored, all her early associations be- 
ing connected with Xew England life, should be found 
in 187-1: in tlnjse Southern wilds, beside a river so unlike 
the streams of Massachusetts, with a husband engaged 
in the cultui'e of cotton. 

That summer proved to be quite disastrous. The 
heavy freshets destroyed large portions of the crop ; 
Mrs. Stimpson lost her health ; she drooped, and not 
long after, in her Marengo home, at Pineville, she died. 
In a brick vault, which is about one mile north of the 
spot where tlie i)arallel of o'2^ crosses the meridian of 
88° west from Greenwich, her dust is sleeping. She 
left one child, a daughter, 

Miss Sallik Stimpson, a pleasant, lively, intelligent 
girl, who, like many others, unites New England de- 
scent and inheritances with the influences that mold 
young ladies in Alabama homes. Mrs. Stimpson, as 
Miss Carleton, was a very noble, devoted. Christian 
girl, connected with a cluster of choice spirits in lier 
Massachusetts home ; and howevei- her hopes for earth 
may have gone out, as only some eleven short years of 
married life were granted to her, her friends will re- 
joice in the thought that her name was on that bright 
roll "written in the Lamb's Rook of Life."' 

At Pineville her home was in a (piite stately man- 
sion built years ago by Dr. Joseph B. Earle or by his 



438 CLAP.KE AND ITS ST KROINDINGS. 

successor, and on the liouse and grounds (juite an 
amount of money lias been at some time laid out At 
JSTewton, one of the wealthiest cities of the land, many 
a costly dwelling is now around her childhood's home. 
But in Paradise, whei'e she has gone to dwell, we think 
not of homes in cabins rude, or in marble balls, but 
rather we think of a city with f/nn f(>un(la.tion>< for 
wliich Abraham looked. •• whose builder and maker is 
(4od."" 



CHAPTER XV. 

SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 



AVASIlINirTON. 



JUDGE Harry TouL:\riN. The first territorial juda'e. 
and one of the early settlers ; Harry Tonhnin was 
bom at Taunton, in England, April 7, 1700, the year 
in which the English Parliament repealed the Stamp 
Act. He was a descendant in a learned family line. 
He became pastor of a Unitarian church in Uancashire 
when only twenty-two years of age, and it is said that 
he had a congi'egation of a thousand hearers. Being 
too free and independent in the expression of his opin- 
ion to suit those times and that government, " tlireat- 
ened with personal injury, and (jften surrounded by 
mobs,"' whose violence extended not only to liis church 
but to his private residence, he determined to follow 
the Puritans, the Quakers, and the Huguenots, to that 
land across the sea, where religious freedom had sought 
its last resting place. He came to this country in 1791, 
landing at Norfolk in Virginia, and the next year be- 
came Pi'esident of Transylvania University at Lexing- 
ton in Kentucky. Holding this position four years, he 
then was chosen Secretary of State of Kentucky, and 
occupied that position for eight years. He in the 
meantime studied law and compiled a code for the 
state. From President Jefferson he received the ap- 
])ointment of Superior ('ourt Judge for the settlement 



440 CLARKE AND ITS SUKROUNDINGS. 

on the Tombigbee river, and came into the wikls of 
Washington in the spring of 1804. lie hehl liis first 
conrt the next fall. He occupied that position till 
181Y. He compiled a digest of laws for the state which 
digest was published in 1823. He named the town (»f 
Wakefield from the residence of Goldsmitirs good 
vicar. He had seven daughters and two sons. One 
of his daughters became the wife of Captain Edmund 
P. Graines, who commanded at Fort Stoddart and ar- 
rested Aaron Burr. On the day after his arrest he was 
introduced to Mrs. Gaines, and Pickett says, " In the 
evening he played chess with that accomplished lady, 
and during his confinement in the fort was often her 
competitor in that intricate game." 

Brewer says that the other six daughters '' married 
respectable gentlemen, and their descendants are num- 
erous in the state." Judge Toulmin died at Wakefield 
in December, 1824, being only fifty-eight years of age. 

Some account of his life seemed to be a fitting be- 
ginning for this chapter.'" 

Old St. Stephens, that place which now is no longer 
a home, a resting place, oi* a resort, for Indian, or French, 
or Spanish, or American, was the business residence, for 
a time, of many who became noted men. Brewer sup- 
poses the present St. Stephens, the county seat of 
Washington, which is about three miles from the river, 
to be the same town which, he says, the Spaniards first 
settled, building a fort there about 1T86. The early 
capital of Alabama was on the west bank of the Tom- 
bigbee rivei*, and the present one is on the east bank of 
the Alabama, fifty-seven miles north and one hundred 

* Hon. Harry T. Toulmin, a jir.uidsoii of Judge Toulmin, is in 1879 thv actini: 
judge of the Clarke Circuit Court. 



SKPyrCHES OF OTHER PROMIXKNT CITIZENS. 441 

iiiul two miles east, distiint in a straight line one hun<li-ecl 
and twenty miles. New St. Stephens is due north from 
Mobile, near the meridian of 11^ west from Washington, 
according to the (leneral Land Office authorities, and 
tifty-eight miles distant from Mobile. The meridian of 
88° west from Greenwich just cuts the mouth of Jack- 
son's Creek below (Jld St. Stephens and McGrews 
lieserve. 

The following are the names of the directors of the 
St. Stephens Bank. David Files, James A. Torbert, 
Dennison Darling, Tliomas J. Strong, Israel Pickens, 
J.G. Lyon, William Crawford, J. F. Ivoss,W. D. Gaines, 
A. S. Lipscomb, Xathan Whiting, George Buchanan, 
Thomas Crowell. Brewer says the town had in 1818 
about fifteen hundred inhabitants. Merrick Price, 
now eighty-two yeais of age, residing at Tallahatta, 
near Chalk Hill, who was born in ^larj-land, who was 
in the war of 1812, who served under Scott, who was 
on the lakes Erie and Ontario, who came to Charleston 
as a soldier, who was sent among the Creeks, who was 
discharged at Montpelier, in Baldwin county, in 1817, 
made his way to St. Stephens and there commenced 
civil life. He is by trade a carpenter. He recollects 
at St. Stephens two hotels, live or six stores, a black 
smith's shop, and a few other buildings characterizing 
a town. The number of inhabitants he does not men- 
tion, but does not describe the town as very large. He 
went over to Jackson's Creek in the old McGrew settle- 
ment. He speaks of that settlement as small in 1817, 
although settlers came in rapidly in the next two years, 
lie soon went to Mobile, and staid perhaps a year. His 
next place of soj(jurn was at Claiborne. There he 
found one public house, or hotel, and about two stores. 



442 CLARKE AND ITS SUKK0UNDING8. 

About 1850 lie became a resident of Clarke, settling at 
his present localit_y. Some members of his family re- 
main with him, and in a secluded valley, among hills 
and native wilds, he is likely to end his days. Once a 
citizen soldier, tlien a humble carpenter, and at last a 
retired farmer. In other records his name may not be 
found along with those who, starting from St. Stephens, 
have been in the high places of the state and in the 
halls of the Capitol; but perhaps on this page it will 
live as long. And there may be a record where it will 
brightly shine. 

James (t. Lyon of St. Stephens married a daughter 
of Colonel Gp:okgk Fisuer, who resided three miles 
south of Suggsville, whose nephew, Colonel John Fisher 
of North Cai-olina was a member of Congress. 

JuDOE Abner Lirsoomk, wliosc father Joel Lips- 
comb, a colonial soldier of Virginia of 1776, married 
Miss Elizabeth Chikls, was born in South Carolina in 
1789. His parents were early settlers near St. Stephens. 
He himself, having read law and having been admitted 
to the bai", came to St. Stephens in 1811, being tlien 
about twenty-two years of age. He was a representa- 
tive of Washington county in the territorial legislature 
and when the state government was organized he was 
elected a judge of the supreme court. For fifteen 
years Judge Lipscomb was on the supreme bench, 
eleven years as chief justice, his opinions being con- 
tained in the first ten volumes of Alabama reports. 
In January 1835 he resigned his position and resumed 
the practice of law in Mobile. In 1839 he removed to 
Texas, and there became Secretary of State. He aided 
in framing the state constitution in 1845. In 1846 he 
became a justice of the supreme court of Texas and 



SKE'ICIIKS OF OTIIKli I'ROMINKiNl' C'lTIZKNS. 44-'*) 

(li(,'(l ill <>t}ic(' ill tlu' wiiitci' wliicii tollowcd the electioTi 
of I 'resident Ihiclianaii. 

Ukael Pickens, anotluT of tliese bank directors, 
born in North Carolina in .lanuaiT, 178<,>, tlie son of a 
colonial officer of the Kevolution, of Huguenot blood, 
a state senator of ^^orth Carolina in 1808, became in 
1^17 register in the land office at St. Stephens. He too 
was educated for the law. He I'epresented Washington 
county, I'emoved to Greene, and in 1821 was elected 
governor of the new state. It has been observed by 
another noted citizen, who was also a young man of St. 
Stephens, F. S. Lyon, that (iovei-nor Pickens "was the 
most useful executive the state has ever had." He was 
afterwards United States Senator, and died in Cuba of 
lung disease in April 1827. 

William Crawford, who became the president of 
tlie bank of St. Stephens, came to the new capital, from 
Mrginia. as United States District Attorney, in 1817. 
In 1826 he became a United States District Judge, re- 
moving to Mobile in 1827. and lield the office till his 
death in 1849. 

Jack F. Ross, another director, born in Xorth Caro- 
lina in 170^^, a soldiei" in the South, under General 
Jackson during the war of 1812. came to St. Stephens 
abcnit 1815, and there became a merchant. He was the 
first State Treasurer of Alabama. He removed to Mo- 
bile in 1823 and was there a leading merchant, and was 
also a ])lanter for a time in Clarke county, was populai' 
and hospitable, and became wealthy, was a state repre- 
sentative and senator and died of yellow fever in Octo- 
ber 1837. 

IIknky HrrcncocK, a native of New England, a 
grandson of Colonel Ethan Allen, came to St. Stephens 



444 CLARKE AND ITS SUKROl'NDINGS. 

as a young lawyer in 1817. He was soon appointerl 
Secretary of x\labania Territory, filled different public 
stations, succeeded Judge Lipscomb in his high posi- 
tion, was regai'ded as one of the first lawyers of the 
state, and considered ''one of tlie most cultivated and 
talented of early public men " of Alabama, and died 
of yellow fever in 1S:!0 ^'at the eai'ly age of forty-four 
years." 

Gkokge Strother Gaixks. born in JSorth Carolina in 
1784, his father having been a Revolutionary officer who 
liad married a Miss Strother, came to St. Stephens in 
1805, from Tennessee, to which state his parents had 
removed in 1794. He came as assistant factor for the 
United States, assigned to their Choctaw trading house. 
In 1806 he was appointed factor and held the position 
for fourteen years. He afterwards became a merchant 
at T)emopolis,was state senator for Marengo and Clarke, 
and in 1830 he became a merchant at Mobile. In 1856 
he removed to Mississippi, making his home at State 
Line. 

Francis Strother Lyon. A native of Xorth Carolina, 
born in 1800, he came to St. Stephens in 1817. lie 
commenced his active life as clerk in the old Tom big- 
bee Bank, at St. Stephens, of which George S. Gaines, 
his uncle, was Cashier. -Another uncle was Major- 
General E. P. Gaines. It is supposed that he also read 
law in the office of William Crawford, Esq. In 1822 
he was elected Secretary of the Alabama Senate. For 
eight years he occupied this position and discharged 
admirably the duties of his office. 
- Lie was State Senator in 1883 and 1834; and in 1834 
was elected President of the Senate. In 1835 and 
again in 1837 he was elected representative in Congress. 



SKKTCHKS i)V OIJIKR I'ltoMIXKNT (TII/KXS. 445 

From 1847 to 1853 lie was Coininissioner aiul Ti'iis- 
tee to settle the affaii's of the State P>aiikaiul Branches. 
The duties assigned to him in this ])osition he dis- 
charged with great satisfaction to the citizens of the 
State, showing that lie possessed excellent financial 
abilities and sterling business (jualifications. 

Faithfulness rather than brilliancy was a character- 
istic trait. 

He married in earlv lil'c Miss Glover of Marensro 
and removed to that county for his permanent home. 
Mis residence has been now for some years at De- 
mo])olis. 

Beloved L. TuiiXKR of Washington county was rep- 
resentative in 1842 and 1843, also in 1849 and 1851. 
lie was senatoi- for \\'asliington and ('larke in 1845. 

Another of the St. Stephens' residents was "Willia^f 
J. Alston, who was boi'ii in (reorgia in 1800, and who 
came to St. Stephens with his parents in 1818. He 
there taught school, having been educated by the cele- 
brated teacher. Dr. Moses W'addell of South Carolina, 
and thei'e he studied law. In 1821 he began to practice 
at Linden in Marengo county, became judge of the 
county court, a representative, a senator, and a member 
of Congress, and again, in 1855, a state representa- 
tive. His life has been characterized by " urbanitv, 
industry, public spirit, and high moral and mental at- 
tainments." 

Still another who left his mark uixm this region, 
beside the evertiowing Alabama, was Jonx Mokkissett. 
Born in Tennessee in 1T93. spending his early yeai's in 
obscurity and poverty, serving through the war of 
1812, lie came to the territory of Alabama and spent 
one or two years at St. Stephens, where so man}- young 



44:6 CLARKE AND ITS Sl'KKOUNDINGS. 

men coinineiieed an activ^e and successful life. In ISI7 
he crossed the river into Monroe county and became a 
planter. He cleared land and tilled land by day and 
read law in the eveninc^ till niidnio'ht, and in 1828 was 
admitted to the bar. In 1829 he was elected representa- 
tive and for live times afterwards. He was senator 
for the last six years of his life. He died in Texas in 
1851 and his remains were brought home for burial. 
His wife was ""Miss Gaines of WMshington county, a 
cousin of Hon. F. S. Lyon." Brewer says, ''IN^o citi- 
zen of Monroe has left a more abiding memory than 
John Morrissett."" From obscurity and poverty he 
worked his way to eminence and competency. 

Dr. Sa^euel S. Houston came from the North. He 
was for'some time register or receiver in the land office 
at- St. Stephens. He represented Washington county 
in 1840 and 1841. He was not only a physician and 
politician but it is said, practiced law and l)ecame a 
minister of the Gospel. 

Among those residing for a short time at St. Ste- 
phens, in its period of prosperity, was 

John Ckowell, who was born in Xorth Carolina 
about 1785, and was said to have descended from a 
brother of Oliver Cromwell who came from England in 
1674 for personal safety, and for the same purpose 
changing his name from Cromwell to Crowell. 

.lohn Crowell in 1815 was an agent of the govern- 
ment among the Muscogees, and resided near the Chat- 
ahoochie. In 1817 he resided at St. Stephens and was 
elected a delegate to Congress by the first legislature 
of Alabama Territorj'. He afterwards returned to what 
is now Russell county in the east of the state. 

Whatever may have been the number of inhabitants 



SKKICIIKS OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 447 

of Alabama's first capital on the winding "Bigbee, as 
on that stately and majestic bluff, at the head of sloop 
navigation, it stood for a time as a growing and pros- 
perous town, it certainly atti'acted the attention of nuiiiy 
talented young men. 

Yet another of these was 

Ptolk:\[v T. Harris, born in Georgia, who came to 
St. Stepliens in 1S19. He there read law, was admit- 
ted to the bar in 1S21, and commenced practice. From 
182P) to 1831, excepting the year 182!>, he i-epresented 
th(^ county of Washington in the legislature. In 1832 
he was elected judge of the circuit court and held that 
office for eight years. He married Miss McGrew. a 
daughter of Colonel William McGrew who had been 
killed by the Indians iji 1813. In 1848 Judge Harris 
removed to Louisiana, where some years afterwards he 
died. 

The young man who reads these pages may be led 
to j'emark. What an opening there must have been in 
Alabama, in those years, for young lawyers ! Perhaps 
the remark attributed to Daniel Webster will also oc- 
cur to him, There is always room in the upper stories. 
The same talent and energy, (but energy is talent, ) en- 
abled young planters and physicians also to succeed. 

C'olonel TnoMAS McCarrell Prince, who repre- 
sented Washington county in 1844 and 1845, and was 
state senator in 1^55, was a prominent and wealthy 
planter, who came from North Carolina, graduating at 
Chapel Hill in 1827, residing for a time at Mobile, vis- 
iting (irlasgow, and who died a citizen of Choctaw 
county in 1871. 

The larger part of Choctaw county had been taken 
from Washington county when the former was organ- 
ized in 1847. 



44'8 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Aiiotlier of the senators of Clioctaw county was 
WiLMAM WooDWAKD fVom Soutli Caroliiui, who for 
eighteen years was pastor of a Baptist cliurch, and who 
also died on his phmtation in Choctaw in 1871. 

James Magoffin was brouglit up in the city of 
PhiLadelphia, was well educated, — although some of 
those who had with him a business correspondence 
thought that it needed a ''Philadelphia lawyer'' to 
read his hand-writing, — was practical, "very indus- 
trious, systematic, and economical," ■'■ and came to 
St. Stephens in 1801). He with James Caller rep- 
resented Washington county in the legislature of 
Mississippi Territory. He established a store near 
the locality of Grove Hill perhaps as early as 
1815. He remained in business there until 1830 or 
later, and then returned to St. Stephens. He had rep- 
resented Clarke in the convention to form a constitu- 
tion in 1819, and in the legislature in 1821. Having 
returned to St. Stephens he was appointed the register 
of the United States land office, and held that otfice 
more than thirty yeai-s. He was a faithful and capable 
public officer. He was fond of raising truit trees, and 
gave considerable attention to the nursery business 
both at his store locality in Clarke and at St. Stephens. 
He was never married. 

He was a near relative of Governor Magoffin of 
Kentuck3% and a brother of Thomas Magoffin, a mer- 
chant who did an extensive business at New Orleans. 

He died some years ago, having been well known 
in all this region from his position in the land office at 
St. Stephens. 

Old St. Stephens was at one time the liome of the 

*T. W. Price of Rclioboth. 



SKETCHES OF OTHEK PRO.MINENT CITIZENS. 449 

Siiioot, Crawford, Chamberlain, Malone, and many 
other well known families. Major Chamberlain resid- 
ed in a large stone building. There were many build- 
ing?; erected, built in part or entirely of the fine white 
limestone. Dr. Buchanan was the most noted physi- 
cian at St. Stej^hens in lsi6. He was a first class phy- 
sician, his ride extending as far north as West Bend. 
His wife was a sister of Patrick May. 

Lkwis Skwall, the father of Dr. Sewall. and .Iack 
F. Koss, the father of AVm. H. Ross of Mobile, also 
resided here. 

St. Stephens w^as not noted for i-eligious life or 
activity. It is said, and the ti-adition comes too direct- 
Iv and credibly to be doubted, that an aged minister 
was treated disrespectfully once in this town ; and he 
perhaps, justly indignant at their strange want of 
courtesy and respect, perhaps looking at the principles 
taught in the Scripture in accordance with which we 
may sometimes foresee events, declared to them that 
the time was coming when the owls would dwell in 
tlieir deserted homes and utter desolation would mark 
their then thronged streets. 

To the very letter has the prediction of that aged 
man of God proved true. A traveller need not go to 
Central America to find the I'ock foundations of ancient 
buildings, to see trees growing where once were well 
trodden streets, to find no signs of the living, but a 
large burial place with monumental stones, marking 
the last r>.'Sting places of many once living in that gay, 
festive, busy, territorial capital. It is true, the dust, 
and silence, and ruins of fifty j^ears are not like those 
of a thousand. 

But a peculiar charm is over this quiet desolation, 
2'.' 



450 CLAKKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

to the lover of venerable ruins, to him whose metuorv 
it? fnriiisliecl with the memorials now existing and whose 
imagination is alive with the i)icturecl images of what 
once was, as he stands here where the changes of m(^re 
than one hundred years have passed and thinks of old 
Babylon and Nineveh, of Tyre and Palmyra, of Thebes 
and Memphis, of the old cities of Peru and Central 
America, of the old Maubila, and of the grave Span- 
ish, the lively Fi-ench, the brown Choctaw, the pioneer 
American. 

The picturesque and the grand objects on which 
here the eyes will rest ; the long sunny hours, that invite 
delightful revery under the protecting shade of some 
forest monarch ; the characteristics of those once 
dwelling here ; all tend to produce a state of mental 
enjoyment. 

II. CLARKE AND MONROE. 

Patrick May, who was in that disastrous battle of 
Burnt Corn, one of the gallant men of Clarke, then a 
lieutenant, who bore the wounded Lieutenant Creagh 
to his horse in the hasty retreat, was "a descendant of 
a brave revolutionary family" of North Carolina. 
Residing for some years after the Indian war in Clarke 
county, he then removed to Greene and became there 
a nnlitia general, a senator, and an influential planter. 

Samuel B. Shields came from South Carolina to 
the river settlement about 1812. At Jackson was born 
his son Benjamin Glover Shields, who in 1834 repre- 
sented Marengo county, was in 1841 sent to Congress, 
and was sent by appointment of President Polk to rep- 
resent the United States at Venezuela. He afterwards 
became a citizen of Texas. He is said to have been a 



SKKK'KES OF OTIIKR IMtOMINENT (UTIZKNS. 451 

mail (if ••captivating' address/' "'an ardent, active, 
well informed politician." lie was one of those boys 
of (Marke county whose names have been known over 
all the country. 

For several years he was a planter in the county of 
iMarenij;o. 

Rkibkx Safkoli), born in Georgia in 1T88, studied 
law and commenced practice in Clarke count_y, Georgia, 
was married to Mary Philips, daugliter of Colonel 
Joseph Philips, in 1811, and settled on the river at 
Pine Level, which became .Jackson, in the spring of 
1813. lie entered actively into the Indian war which 
soon broke out ; holding the rank of Colonel in the 
militia, he sei'ved as private in the battle of Burnt 
Corn; was captain of a company that "scoured the 
thickets from the mouth to the head of the Perdido ; " 
was a member of the legislatnre of the Mississippi 
Territory ; of the state convention in 1819 ; and was 
elected in the fall of 1810 a circuit judge. In Decem- 
ber of that year he removed to Dallas county, where 
he spent the remainder of his days, lie there became 
a member of the Supreme Court and at length its chief 
justice. Pickett says, ''The reports of the Supreme 
Court of Alabama are endui'ing nuMuorials of his 
strength of mind, patient investigation, deep research, 
and profound learning." "He never attached himself 
to any church, yet he was a Urm believer in the atone- 
ment, ami was accustomed to express the confident hope 
tiiat he had nothing to fear beyond the grave.'' "No 
man of distinction has ever died in Alabama, leaving 
behind him more reputation for legal ability, and for 
honoi-. justice, and probity," 



452 CLAUKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

rioVKKXdK .lOlIN MrK'l'llY. 

In the latter part of the eighteenth century there 
came from Scotland Murclock Murphy and his son Xeil 
Murphy, who settled in North Carolina. Neil Murphy 
married Miss Downing, and about 1785 John Murphy, 
their son, was born. They removed to South Carolina 
and the son became a teacher to secure funds foi- com- 
pleting his course at the South Carolina College. 

Fellow students with him there were James Dellet 
and John Gayle. Of the three one was Scotch, one was 
Irish, and the other, probably, of English descent. 
England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, have been well 
represented in this region. Graduating in 1808. clerk 
of the South Carolina Senate for eight years, in 1818 
John Murphy became a citizen of Monroe county, was 
admitted to the bar, became a planter, represented the 
county in the legislature, and in 1825 was elected gov- 
ernoi'. He occupied this position for two terms, and 
afterwards served one term as a repi'esentative in Con- 
gress. He was master, for a time, of the Alabama 
Grand Lodge of Masons. He was mai-ried twice. His 
second wife was Mrs. Carter, a sistei' of Colonel John 
Darrington. He died in 1S4(» on his plantation near 
"Pigeon Creek, once Monroe but now Clarke county, 
and his remains lie near Gosport in a little burial 
ground of Clarke. 

The Murphy burial place is one mile and a half from 
the Gosport church and from Colonel Forvvood's resi- 
dence, in a secluded situation, in one of those solitudes 
of nature in which Clarke abounds. It is surrounded 
by a ditch, but the graves wliere sleeps the dust of 
Governor Murphy, of two of his sons, of a brother who 



SKKl'HKS OFOTIIKll IMtOMIXENT CITIZKNS. -to.'^ 

was a Pi'csbyteriaii initiister, arc iimiiarki'd. and their 
l)recise situation can scarcely now be determined. The 
only monument witliin this sacred enclosure was erect- 
ed at the grave of a teacher who came from the East, 
A[iss Chandler, whose remains were de[)osite(l in this 
family burial ])lace. Mrs. Murphy, when selling her 
dower in the estate, reserved one acre of land, this 
burial ground, wliich has never been sold, and which 
is to remain undisturbed as a resting place of the dead. 
The citizens of the county, thi'ough tlieir commission- 
• •rs, ought to place around this burial acre a neat fence 
and erect a sim]>le and tasteful monument to the mem- 
ory of Governor Murphy, a man pious and benevolent 
and honorable, and in his day "useful in all good en- 
terprises," of whose dust the soil of Clarke is the sacred 
repository. Such spots should be made as secure as 
possible against desecration while the state govern- 
ment of Alabama continues. 

(ioVKIJ.NOK .lOIlN (xAYLK. 

The son of a South Carolina phintcr. born in Sumter 
district in Se})tember 17!'2, and graduating at the South 
(^arolina College inl813, — in those days students must 
have spent more than four years in college, as they now 
do in the West, — John Gayle came immediately to Clai- 
borne, read law. and was admitted to the bar in 1818. 
His father must have settled ab<.ut 1^12 in Barlow's 
Bend, as he lived and died near (rainestown, once in 
^[onroe but now in Clarke. John Gayle, whose marriage 
to a young lady of Clarke is elsewhere mentioned, held 
various ottices. He .was a member of th-c Alabama 
Territorial Council, a solicitor, a representative, a judge 
of the supreme court, and in 18;] 1, also in 1833, he was 



454 CLARKE AND ITS SUIJUOUNDINCiS. 

elected (Tovernor. He was afterward re])reiseiitative 
in Congress and a "federal district judge,'' wliicli last 
position lie held till his death in »lnly 1859. He died 
in the county of Mobile. He was prohablj never a 
citizen 'jf the actual county of Clarke. 

Still another governor of Alabama commenced his 
career of public life at Claiborne, and is entitled to 
a place in these recoi'ds, although not a citizen of 
Clarke. 

OMVKIJNOK AKTUTR P. BA(;i!V. 

He was born in Virginia, in L uisa county, in 1796. 
Early in 1819 he was a law student at Claiborne. 
Garrett says, "His genius flashed from every feature, 
and sparkled in his small, piercing black eyes. No man 
possessed a finer person to command attention at first 
sight." 

Brewer says, "In appearance Governor Bagby was 
tall and commanding, his features most classically chis- 
eled, and lit up by large and brilliant eyes.'"" He is 
said to have owed his advancement, in some degree, 
to his splendid appearance, and bland and courtly 
niannei". '" 

His career was a tine example of the success of in- 
tellectual power, and social and personal qualities, in 
struggling against poverty. Garrett says, on the au- 
thority of Governor Martin, that Arthur P. Bagby 

■:=GaiTett and Biewer do not qnite aicrot' on tli(^ ^ize of (Jov. Bairbv's eyes. 

The author becanu- acquainted with him at (Jrove Hill, wlien lie caiiie from 
Camden, to attend the sei^sions of circuit court, and from his recollection of (iov. 
Bagby it is not proper to ch iracterize his eyes as either peculiarly small or large. 
Ue was a dignified and sociable gentleman, very afifable and cordial in his intercourse 
with the young and inexperienced teacher whom he found Ijoardiiig at the hotel 
where he was accustomed to stoj). The sliiilit ae(|uaintaic'i' there formed is now 
remembered with jjleasure. 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PHOMINENT CITIZENS. 455 

came to Alabama on loot, with "all his worldly ij;o()(ls 
tied in a small bundle which he carried with him." 
He further says, "Conscious of intellectual power, 
and scorning to yield to seemingly adverse fate, he 
turned his face westward, and bade farewell to his rela- 
tives and friends in the proud Old Dominion, where 
poverty was hard to overcome. Rarely has such a spec- 
tacle been presented, — such a youth, so highly favored 
by nature, in person and in intellect; in the grand quali- 
ties afterwards developed in a career of success and 
preferment embracing the next thirty years after his 
introduction in Alabama.'' 

He came while Alabama was yet a Territory, repre- 
sented Monroe county in 1S21, was re-elected in 1822, 
and was chosen speaker of the House, the youngest 
member, says Brewer, ever occupying that position in 
Alabama. He was a member of the legislature for 
several years, again presided, and, says Garrett, "never 
was the chair graced by a more splendid presiding 
officer." In 183T and again in 1839 he was elected 
governor. From 1841 to 1848 he was United States 
Senator, and in 184s was appointed by Pi-esident Polk 
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to 
the court of Russia at St. Petersburg. After the elec- 
tion of General Taylor, having remained in St. Peters- 
burg about a year, he resigned his position, returned to 
Alabama, resided at Montgomery, and then for some 
years at Camden, in Wilcox county, removing to Mobile 
in 1856. where he became a member of the Ba])tist 
Church of that city, and died of yellow fever in the fall 
of 1858. 

Thus from St. Stephens, Jackson, and Claiborne, 
have young lawyers gone forth to fill many high 
places. 



456 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Judge Ly]\[an Gibbons was another among the noted 
men who have spent some portion of their life at Clai- 
borne. Brewer speaks of him in 1872 as a resident of 
Mobile comity, and says of him, "Like many of the 
most useful men of the county, he is of Northern birth.'" 
He was born in New York in 1808, in Albany county. 
He graduated at Amherst college in Massachusetts, 
read law for a season in Vermont, came to Alabama in 
1833, and was a teacher at Spring Hill College. He 
became a resident lawyei" at Claiborne, probably in 
1835. He went to Paris in 1845 and for two years 
studied the civil law. Returning to Alabama, he be- 
came judge of the circuit court and afterward of the 
supreme court. He married in 1853 the only daughter 
of Hon. James Dellett of Monroe, since which time 
that county has been to a great extent his home. A 
portion of his time he spends at Mobile, having resum- 
ed the practice of law."-" 

James I)p:llet, born in Philadelphia, of Irisli de- 
scent, graduating at South Carolina College in 1810, 
commencing life as a lawyer in 1813, locating at Clai- 
borne in 1816, became a brilliant lawyer and political 
leader, and another of the noted men of Monroe. He 
was a distinguished member of the state legislature 
and was twice a representative in Congress. He died 
at his home in Claiborne in 1848. 

Other noted lawyers of Monroe have been A. B. 
Cooper, Enoch Pakson, William P. Leslie, Noah A. 
Agee, and Rufus C. Torrey. 

*Judgi' Gibbons died at liis ri^sidcnco iii-ar Clailionie June 2", 1879, "a man,' 
says' tlic Selma Timfs, " wlio will he icreatly missed throngliDUt the entire 
state." 



SKKTCirES OF OTIIKK PHOMTXKNT CITIZENS. 457 
LK.SMK. 

Jdii.N W. Lksfje is the son of a Monroe county 
planter who was an early resident. In 1872 he was 
•Indite of the probate court of Monroe. Judge Leslie 
has a son, Axdrkw M. Lksijk. who has commenced 
the pi'actice of law." 

William Fkkky Leslie, whose name has been men- 
tioned among the prominent lawyers of Monroe, was 
born in the county in 1S19, was admitted to the bar in 
1841, and was a law partner with Hon. A. B. Cooper, 
also with Hon. Rufus C. Torrey. His wife was a sis- 
ter of Hon. N. A, Agee, who was state senator for 
^^onroe, and Clarke, and Baldwin, in 1857 and 1858. 
He was a brother of Judge J. W. Leslie, was himself 
state senator in 1851, founded " several industrial 
establishments at Claiborne," was noted for activity, 
energy, and decision, and was therefore an influential 
citizen. He died in Mississippi, at Pascagoula, in 
October, 1867. 

General Enoch Parsons, also named above, came 
from Tennessee about 1823. Lie was for many years a 
prominent lawyer in Monroe and Clarke, and was a 
law partner with Hon. A. B. Cooper. He represented 
Monroe for two years in the state legislature, and 
about 1840 he removed to a plantation near the union 
of the Coosa and Tallapoosa, an old historic locality, 
where, two or three years after wards, he died. 

Hon. Aaron Burr Cooper, was born in Kew Jer- 
sey December 11, 1800, and read law in Morristown. 
(that place noted in American history where Washing- 
ton's army was in winter quarters, suffering privations 

* He is- now. IHTil. a la\v-i)artiK'r with Hon. J. S. Dickinson at (Jrove !nil. 



458 CLAKKE AND ITS SUKKOUNDINGS. 

and hardships in the winters of 1770, of 1770, and of 
1780, spending the winter of 1777 at A^alley Forge and 
of 1778 with the head-quarters at Middlebrook.) 

In January, 1822, he went to Mobile and in 1>*23 
he became a resident in Clarke. In 1826 he passed 
over the river into Monroe, settled at Claiborne, en- 
tered into partnership with General Parsons, represent- 
ed Monroe in 1845 and in 1847 ; and in 1850, retiring 
from the practice of law, he i-emoved to Wilcox, and 
became a planter. He married Mrs. Creagh, the wid- 
ow of Hon. John (1. Creagh of Clarke. 

Claiborne, the seat of justice for Monroe county 
until 1832, was at first '' a strong stockade, two hun- 
<lred feet square, defended by three block-houses and a 
half-moon battery which commanded the river. ^' It 
was built in November, 1813, by a detachment of 
troops under General F. H. Claiborne, in honor of 
whom it was named. It is situated on one of the high- 
est bluffs of the Alabama river, formerly known as 
Weatherford's Bluff. From the steam-boat binding a 
flight of some two hundred and fifty steps enables pas- 
sengers to ascend, but not without becoming weary, to 
the top of the majestic bluff. The number of inhabi- 
tants is said to have reached at one time twenty-five 
hundred, the town being equal in size to the early capi- 
tal, St. Stepliens, from which it was distant, about due 
east, thirty miles. Its distance from Mobile by way of 
the river is called one hundred and forty-six miles, 
wliile St. Stephens is only about one hundred and 
twent3\ 

General La Favette visited Claiborne in 1824. 



SKF.TCIIKs OF OTIIKU PROMINENT OITIZKNS. 459 



III. CJ.AKKK (BOUNTY". 
AUSTII.L. 

Among tlie names wliicli have for many years been 
liistoric, connected witli this region, is the name (»t 
Austin. 

K\AX AusTiLL of South Carolina went with his fam- 
ily in 1708 to the Cherokee agency in Georgia, where 
he was engaged in efi"orts tending to spread among the 
Cherokees the arts of civilization. This agencj' was 
established by the Ignited States govei'nment. The lo- 
cation was on a river about twenty miles north of the 
])resent town of Rome. Mrs. E. Austill is said to 
have been the first white woman who ventured to live 
among the Cherokees. Five children were l)()i-n dur- 
ing the residence of the family in this agency, one on, 
J. Austill, having been boiMi in South Cai"olina in 1794. 
Mrs. Austill was evidently not a timid woman. Some- 
times when alone with her little children, in the absence 
of her husband, the Indians would come and tell her 
that they had seen a man without a head near her 
home. She would rej)ly. "I am not afraid of men 
without heads ; those having heads are much more 
dangerous.'" 

The head chief at this time, whom the Indians 
called the Beloved Prince, could not walk and had been 
obliged to sit in his large arm-chair for thirty years. 
He finally had a ])resentiment that he would die in 
forty days. He sent some of his attendants to cut 
forty sticks for dates. He sent for the old chiefs and 
talked with them about the future state. He desired 
to be buried in his chair so that, when the great trum- 
])er sounded, he could readily rise. He said he should 



460 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

(lie at mid-day. The fortietli day came. He sent to 
inquire the time. He asked to be liehl in his chair un- 
til his limbs became rigid. At noon, without a strug- 
gle the Beloved Prince was dead. 

Amid such surroundings the Austill family would 
naturally become familiar with Indian character. A 
school was commenced among these Cherokees and E. 
Austill employed an Englishman to teach. One of the 
Indian bovs, called John Ridge, was ({uite talented, at 
length graduated, and married afterward in the North. 

After residing about fourteen years among the Chero- 
kees E. Austill concluded to remove. The Indians 
said, ''Do not leave us. Any part of our country 
shall be yours. You have been a father and a guide 
to us." But in 1812 his family concluded to remove 
to the frontier settlements in Washington county. 
They came to the Hickory Ground. The Creeks here 
had already met to declare war. A detention occurred. 
A guide, called Quarles, came to this camping place and 
reported that he was authorized by Double Head, a 
chief of the Creeks, to remove persons through their 
region to the 'Beckbee settlements. A consultation was 
held. The party was permitted to proceed, Quarles ac- 
companying them to Dale's ferry. The family settled 
south of Suggsville, and soon were called out, by the 
eventful times, the father and son, to take promiuent 
parts, already narrated, in the war with the Creeks. 

E. Austill died Octr. 18, 1818, at the age of forty- 
nine, from exposure in Florida in the Indian strife. A 
marble slab with a plain inscription near the road-side, 
and near the site of Fort Madison, reveals to the passing- 
traveller his lone resting-place. 

He had two sons and five daughters. Of the daugh- 



SKETCHKS OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 4(31 

ters one only is living, Mrs. Drake of J^owndes t-ounty, 
whose son, William Dkane. is Register of the Chancery 
Coui't of Lowndes. A pleasant and jjroinising youth 
in 1S54, he is now donbtless a worthy and estimable 
man. 

Ma.iok flERKMiAii ArsTiLL. the only other surviver 
of those seven children, has passed through a long, 
varied, and eventful career. 

Born, as already menti ned, in South Oa olina in 
17'J4, when four years of age taken among the Chero- 
kees in Georgia, when six years of age sent back to 
South Carolina to attend school, and again returning 
to the agency, when eigliteen years of age he became a 
resident in that part of Washingtcm county which in a 
few months became Clarke. His deeds of daring 
during the Creek War have been alreadj^ described in 
a former chapter. One incident may be added hei'e. 
He was sent with some Uicssage to Montgomery Hill. 
He went alone in a canoe. Could make on the I'iver 
some ten miles an hour. During the night, seeing a fire 
on the shore, he landed and ap])roached carefully in 
order to warm himself, if there should be no danii:er. 
He found a scaffold with thi'ee young men upon it, all 
asleep, and an old colored woman asleep by the tire. 
Concluding that he also would take a little rest, he 
lay carefully down upon the scaffold, without disturb- 
ing the slumberers. The additional weight proved too 
much foi- that hastily consti'ucted resting place, and 
before long the ibur \ oung men fell together to the 
ground. The three aroused slumberers were alarmed 
and began to discuss the (piestion whether some stranger 
in the darkness was not among them, but \vithout much 
investigation they wrapped their blankets around them. 



4(vi CLAKKE AIS'D ITS ST IlK'OUNDINGS. 

and soon all was again quiet. Then, with the noiseless 
tread of the forest natives, the messenger returned to 
his canoe and resumed his voyage. Not many years 
ago, on board of a steamer going to Mobile, Major 
Austin was narrating the occurr(,'nce, when a white 
bearded man now living in Sumter county suddenly ex- 
claimed, "The mystery is solved at last." He was one 
of those three, and then for the first time learned who 
their midnight visitor had been, and what had occa- 
sioned their sudden downfall. 

After the Creek War in Clarke had ended, J. Austill 
was a clerk in the store of Colonel David Files, at St. 
Stephens. His mother was the only sister of Colonel 
Files, who was at this time quarter master for the army. 
He was sent by his uncle to New Orleans to attend to 
some business, and was to bring back from that city 
quite a large amount of money. He had procured the 
money and was soon to return, when he was taken with 
the yellow fever. Some friends advised him to have his 
money deposited in the bank, but onh' one at a time 
called to give this advice. The young clerk concluded 
that it was quite as safe in his own hands. At length 
there called on him a merchant with whom he was 
acquainted and in whom he had confidence, from the 
neighboring town of Jackson; and to him he entrusted 
the money with the request that he should bear it to his 
uncle. The merchant with the money departed. He 
also was taken sick with the terrible fever. He lived 
to reach Jackson, and there, sick and dying he trans- 
ferred the m(mey securely so tliat it safely reached 
Colonel Files at St. Stephens. The clerk at New 
Orleans at length recovered and returned to St. Ste- 
phens. From a weight of one hundred and eighty 



SKETCHES OF orifKlf IMiOMINENT CITIZENS. 4Go 

pouiuls 111' was reduct'd to ninety-si\. He was in heig'lit 
six feet, two and one fourth inches. He now took a 
ti-ip to the city of Xew York to recruit his healtli. 
Wliile in that city he liad a presentiment that liis father 
was dead. He liastened home, making" the retiu-n in 
twenty-tlii-ee days, which was tlien coiisidered a very 
short time. He learned in Augusta, Georgia, tliat Ins 
father was a<'tually dead. 

In receiving or fornnng mental impressions of this 
kind Major Austill is peculiar. While residing at Cot- 
tage liill ill ls41. at three o'clock in the morning, a 
stranger appeared in his vision, saying, "Dale is dead. 
Fie died this morning at three o'clock." Several days 
afterwards a letter was received from a stranger con- 
taining the same words. (The author has no explana- 
tion to offer here of this singular mental piienomenon. 
He is well acquainted with Major Austill, is sure of 
his trustworthiness, and received this account from his 
own lips in 1877.) 

After the death of Colonel David Files, in 1820. J. 
Austill became Deputy Marshall. He removed to 
Mobile, and was soon appointed C!!lerk of the Couit of 
Mobile. He was also appointed city weigher. 

In 182-1: he commenced business as commission mer- 
chant. The cotton crop at that time 60,000 bales. He 
closed in 1837, the financial crash, of that year involving 
liim in a loss of one hundred and seventy thousand 
dollars. He had at the time four hundred customers. 
He had reasoned in regard to them from his knowledge 
of Indian character, but found that in similar circum- 
stances the w hite man would not deal like an Indian. 
The Indian business characteristics he seems highly to 
admire. 



464 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

He represented Mobile for one year in tlie state legis- 
latui'e. In 1840 lie bought the Gullet rights to a 
plantation in Clarke on the Tombigbee river, and re- 
moved there in 1844. And among the pines, a mile or 
two from the I'iver and from Fort Carney, has since 
been the family home. 

The marriage of Major Anstill was preceded bv 
circumstances somewhat romantic. 

When on that memorable night in 1813, as bearer 
of dispatches to General Claiborne, he entered Fort 
Carney, the gate was opened by .I<»hx Fades, and a 
daughter of his, a young dark-eyed maiden, glanced at 
the tall youth who took his supper with them and who 
was so boldly performing a perilous enterprise. This 
maiden afterwards attended the academy at St. Ste- 
phens, and there as a school girl she met the young clerk, 
who thought to himself that one day she would surely 
become his wife. But another maiden came in be- 
tween them, and through a combination of circum- 
stances to her young Austill was married. Before 
man}^ years had passed she died and left no child to 
represent her. Again the tall sharer of the honors of 
the canoe figlit met with her whom he had seen in the 
fort and who as a school girl had stolen his first attec- 
tions, and before long they were married. A long and 
happy, but changeful life, they have spent together. 
They have had two sons and three daughters. One 
son, who gave promise of remarkable physical power, 
died at the age of two years and eight months, having 
then the capabilities of a boy six or seven years of 
age. 

The youngest daughter is married and is living at 
Faducah, Kentucky. 



SKKTi I[i:s OF O'l'IIKi; IMiOMINEXT CI'IIZKNS. 465 

1'lic second (laiii;-litcr was niari'ied to .loliii AV. 
Mann of \'ii"i;'inia, tlien a resident of Afobile, who died 
in May 1806. He left two dauglitei-s. These, in 1874, 
I'esiding" with their mother at their grandfather's, were 
lively, pleasant and tine-appearing girls, just budding 
into woman-liood. In 1876 they were both nian-ied, 
one to Charles Willis, and the othei' to J)i'. M. Bras- 
tield, both promising citizens of Greene county, in 
which c<Miiity they now reside. 

Mrs. iMann was married in 1875 to Stephen Tomp- 
kins of Carolina, then of Sumter county; and, shar- 
ing in her mother's cheerful and lively spirit, and in 
her father's l)ravery of heart, she now has, as step- 
mother, the charge of several interesting children. At 
ni'esent she resides with her husband and children at 
hei' father's home among the pines of Clarke." 

IlriiiKOSco AusTiLi., the only living son, an excel- 
lent hunter and marksman in his boyhood, a good 
student and a very pleasant pupil, is now a lawyei' at 
Mobile and has held for some years the otiice of Chan- 
cellor. 

Mrs. Marshall, the oldest daughter of the house- 
hold, the wife of a business man at Mobile, died some 
years ago. 

Thus with children, grandchildi'en, and even great- 
grandcliildi'en around him. Major Jeremiah Austill, born 
while Washington was still President, in the year that 
"Jay's Treaty" was n)ade with England, himself still 
quite vigoi'ous and active, is seeing a ])eaceful old age. 

■ How true arc the vvords of Mrr^. Heniuiis, 'Thou hast all seasons for thine 
own, oh Death!" Before this work ))asses through the i)rcss those lieaiitiful 
<langhters are both dead, and that second hnsband is also dead, and once more, she 
that a few years ago was the lively and sparkling maiden. Miss .loseijhinc. is again 
a widow. 

30 



4(>() OLAKKK AND ITS SI' IJKOUNDINUS. 

Before leaving- his quiet home, a home enlivened bv 
the presence ot" children, a glance ought to be given at 
the arrang^Miicnt for suj>i>l_viiig the house with water. 

For the most jKirt, all the water for home sujiplv, in 
this region, comes from the living springs. And from 
these springs, up steej) hills anil along winding foot- 
paths, it is often brought on the heads of women and 
gii-ls. To supply his household Major Austill obtained 
in JS-l-S, from Bedford, (Connecticut, what is calhnl a 
water ram. l''rom the spring eight hundred feet of 
pipe extend under ground to the house. The perj)en- 
dicular elevation is eightv-two feet. The ram is sta- 
tioned at a (.listance of forty feet from the sj^ring, with 
a fall of nine feet, which gi\es suthcieut force to send 
the water ninety feet high. A fall of live feet, forty feet 
in distance, is said to give force sidhcient to send the 
water up fifty feet, in perpeadicular height, and each 
adiliti(nial foot of fall, between the sju-ing and the i-am, 
adds a foi'ce o\' about ten feet. The ram beats ninety- 
seven times in a minute, and with each beat or ])idsa- 
tion, like the pulsation of some great heart, sends the 
crystal water oi' the spring, up the hill-side, through 
the eight hundred feet of pipe, to the house. The 
piston wears out in five or six years. A new one costs 
eight dollars. The entire first cost, of this time 
and labor saving instrument, which has been in oj^era- 
tion about thirtv years, was in round numbers one 
hundred dollars. Can any one. who has seen not only 
colored girls, but frail looking white girls, walking, 
with their peculiar gi-ace, up the long ascending path, 
W'ith the full water bucket on the head, calculate liow^ 
much exertion o\' human musele this iuii'enious instru- 



SKETCHES ()]■ OVnVAi 1M{(JMINENT CITIZENS. 467 

ment has saved. JJevices of this kind are desiraVjle in 
the county of Clarke.^' 

OuiOKN S. Jkwktt was born in Connecticut .\pril 20. 
1><20. His father removed to Georgia in lh22 and died 
in 1831,wlien liis motlier came with her family to Bahi- 
wiii county, where two of her brothers, Origen and 
("yrns Sibley, have resided. Major Origen Sibley Jew- 
ett. graduating at Jirowii University in Rhode Island, 
studying law, admitted to the bar, appointed Register in 
Chancery for Mobile, became in 1857 an inhabitant of 
Clai-ke, becoming a ])lanter as well as lawyer. In 1861 
he was state senator for (Jlarke, Monroe, and Baldwin. 
In the following winter he was chosen Major of tlie 
HHtli Alabama Infantry. He was killed by a sharj)- 
-hooter, at tlic battle of Chicamauga, having attracted 
attention by "being si>lendidly mounted and fearlessly 
ex]>osing himself to danger." He left a stainless record 
••as a gentleman, a soldier, and a Christian." 

Thomas B. Ckkagh was an early settler and wealthy 
planter in Wilcox county. He was, says Brewer, "the 
son of an Irish officer in Braddock's army," a Virgin- 
ian removing first to South Carolina, and settling, in 
what is now Clarke county, in 1812. This county has 
received territory from both Monroe and Wilcox. He 
had several sons. 

Jon.v G. Ckkagh was born in 1787 and was educated 
at Dr. Waddell's academy in South Carolina. He was 
one of the early lawyers in Clarke county. He was 
also a planter. was five times elected as state r(;presenta- 
tive, and was for many years Judge of the Clarke 

* Major Austin died December 8. 1S79, " popseesed of the resper^r and confl- 
derice of all the people, aiil revered for the Ion;; life of usefiilnCBs, honor, and pat- 
riotism he has lived on the Hoil of Alabama." He wae in the eighty-sixth year of 
hi« iige. 



4()8 ri.AKKK AM» US srKKiHTNUINGS. 

C\Minty Otnirt. lie ilied in 1S;'^1). ^frs. Oroau'h atrcr- 
warJ niarriod lltni. A. H. Coopor, a disriiiiruishod 
lawver. 

Ci>louol (iiK.vKii Wai.i'kk CwKAiiii Vivcd iioav Sugg>- 
villo. His naiiio has l>oon tV(.H|ucnrly mcntionod in 
t'ornior oliaptors. lie was tor two terms a re]M-osonta- 
tivo and tor throe terms a senator trom CMarke. He 
died in 1850. 

Ai.KXANOi'.K ('KKAiiiu another of these bi'others. was 
a phmter. 

RioiiAKP P. TKKAiin went to Mississippi, beeame 
attorney aeneral ot' the state, and was killed there in 
18l>3. 

Dr. Mkmokaki.i; W. ('Ki:AO.n liveil in Marengo. He 
represented the county tor two terms in the state legis- 
lature. He delivered popular temperance lectures. He 
died in IS7'2. Garrett says, that the Creagh t'amily 
" had as much wealth and character as any in South 
Alabama." 

As they are so fully mentioned in other volumes 
they need but a short lu^tice here. Some representatives 
of this once wealthy family are still living in Clarke. 
Among these is T. B. OKEAiai, residing tui a plantation 
mu'th ot' Siiggsville, Secretary o\' tlie Board of Kduca- 
tion ot' Olarke county. Superinten^lent ot' the Suggsville 
Sumlay-school. a teacher for a time in the comity, a 
farmer, and a very pleasant, gentlemanly friend. He 
has a comfortable hmne and some interesting little 
ehildren. 

.loHN Dakuingion was ju-obably the wealthiest man 
for a time, in the county ot' Clarke. He was not an 
early resident. He came to the county with about three 
hundred and tifty colored people, then, (^f course slaves. 



SKKKIIRS OF OlIIKi; I'ltOMlXKNT (T'l IZKXS. 4f)ti 

IJe (>ccM\n(M\ a hirgt- |»hiiifati()ii nejir the Alabaiiiu river 
and near Gainestown. He waw nearly related to the 
James family. Although not in official, political life, 
("olonel Darrington was a man of innch influence in 
p<ilitics. He owned at one time the CJedar CJreek ]>lan- 
tation and kept thorough-bred colts there in 188fJ. IJe 
died about 1>S57. Alexander Carleton was the adminis- 
trator of his estate, which then comprised about seven 
thousand aci'es of land, one hundred and fifty negroes, 
and some tine horses. 

S AMCKi. -James, whose wife was Miss Mary Darring- 
ton. came to Clarke County in ]818. Their former 
hoiDe was Kershaw district. South Carolina, where their 
son. Lorenzo James, was born in 1805. Graduating at 
"^'ale College in 1824. residing for a short time in Mo- 
bile and Dallas, Lorenzo James, in 1828 became a resi- 
dent of what was afterwards called Lowndes county. 
He was a senator for that county in 1835. He soon after 
returned to Clarke and became a planter. He was a 
state reprcisentative in 1841 and 1849, and a senator in 
1851. He afterwards left the county and made his home 
at ^[(Jntgomery. 

Colonel James was for a few years identified with 
the interests of this county. He is said to have been 
'*a gentleman of the old school." bland, cheerful, in- 
telligent, and courteous. 

As a senator it is said that " he displayed tact and 
talent of no ordinary degree.'' He married a daughter 
of General Thomas Scott. He was a member of the 
^L K. Church, and had many intelligent and influential 
familv connections. 



470 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

CAKLETON. 

There were of this name four brothers. 

Warren Carleton removed to Lowndes county. 
He married there; became a merchant, carried on busi- 
ness for some years; and finally died there. 

Morgan Carleton was a planter of Clarke, a very 
intelligent man, a great reader. His wife was a sister 
of James S. Dickinson, and a member of the Methodist 
Church, a very estimable woman. She died (Jctober 9, 
1861. His two daughtei'S, Josephine and Yii-ginia,were 
very intelligent, excellent young ladies. They both 
married and are both dead. How very soon, sometimes, 
do the lovely pass from earth! 

George Carleton married Miss M. Pogue, whose 
home was near Grove Hill. He became a merchant at 
Bashi. He was an industrious, excellent, business man, 
a good money-maker. Commencing business with a 
cash capital of four hundred dollars, he was in a fair 
way to become a very wealthy man, when, about 1857, 
death put a stop to his career of prosperity. One of 
his daughters. Miss Lizzie, married J. Y. Kilpatrick of 
Camden ; the other, Miss May, and her brother now 
entering manhood, reside with their mother on the 
plantation at Bashi. They are now a small, but very ■ 
pleasant family. A young lady residing near, evidently 
not envious, having in fact a sweet disposition, consid 
ers Miss May Carleton, in this year of 1877, the most 
beautiful girl in the north of Clarke. 

Alexander Carleton commenced business at Bashi 
in 1843. He had, connected with his store, a bell shop. 
In 1852 he removed to Choctaw Corner, and entered 
into partnership with William H. Slade. They bought 
goods at New York in 1853. They continued in busi- 



SKETCnp:S OK OTHKU PltOMINENT CITIZKXS. 471 

ncss until 18(57. Failure then, as a matter of eoui-.se, 
came. They had been doiufi; a business of twenty 
thousand dollars a year. The credit system, more or 
less, had prevailed, as it did in those years throughout 
the South. Some paid their debts, finally, in a worth- 
less currency. Some could not pav at all. Evervthin"- 
invested in plantation hands was utterly sunk. The 
most shrewd business man could not be expected to 
sustain unharmed sucli a shock. The more wealthy one 
was, the more surely might he then expect financial 
ruin. The large and once prosperous business house of 
Carleton and Slade at Ciioctaw Corner looks desolate 
now. The revived business is conducted on a difl^erent 
scale. 

During those years of business prosperity at the Cor- 
ner A. Carleton was often at (xrove Hill as adrninistra- 
t(n- of estates and attending to matters of business. He 
is a moralist and not a church member, and used to 
meet the principal lawyer of Grove Hill with the dig- 
nity of an old Roman judge. He still retains his 
urbanity and dignity. 

Having retired from business life, he is now residing 
on his plantation at Baslii,a short distance north of Elam 
church. He has some very promising sons, and a 
daughter, entering womanhood, who is graceful in ap- 
pearance and exhibits some fine traits of character. As 
a man he is very intelligent and enterprising. He is so- 
ciable, hospitable, and pleasant as a friend. He attends 
meetings at Elam, and is an honorable, useful citizen. 

These four brothers were for many years active and 
prominent citizens. Two c)f them \yere leading business 
men of the county. Wealth was in their hands and its 
appliances surrounded them. Those who will repre- 



472 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

sent the tainily in tlie coming generation may oi- may 
not regain tlie wealtli; but tliej may perpetuate the 
respectability, the industry, the enterprise, tlie honor, 
and the piety, that lias in the past been connected with 
the name of Cakleton. 

Dr. Dejstny was for some yeai'S the most noted phy- 
sician in the county. 

He came from Boston and settled in iSuggsville about 
1836. Pie married Miss Amanda Chapman, a inece of 
Lieutenant, afterwards Colonel R. Mobley. 

As a physician, after he had acquired celebrity, he 
was em})loyed in extreme and dangerous cases. His 
charges were high, lie gained coiisidei-able property. 
He was somewhat lame, and visited his patients in a 
carriage attended by his body servant. Generally phy- 
sicians made their visits on horseback. Dr. Xeal Smith 
also rode in a carriage or in a buggy. 

Dr. Denn}^ was an experimenter and perhaps some- 
what visionary, outside of his professional life. He was 
certainly a peculiar man. He endeavored to construct 
a Hying machine, employing one mechanic two _years, 
and spending, it is said, on this experiment between 
live and eight thousand dollars. The precise amount 
probably no one ever knew. He als(» experimented in 
keeping bees. His swarms were in bee-houses, in 
different neighborhoods, and at one time he owned 
about two thousand hives of "little, busy'' bees. These. 
it is to be supposed, if not a profitable investment, were 
not valueless, like the flying machine. 

He wrote and published a pamphlet on the indige- 
nous plants of Clarke. He was in 1S53. and perhaps 
in other years. President of the Alabama State Medical 
Association, and in his official notice for a meeting at 



SKKTCHKS OF OTiIKH PROMINENT CITIZENS. 47'^) 

Moiitfiromerv in .lanuiirv. IS.H. lie alludes to the fact 
that the state had of late "'been invaded by sickness of 
unusual extent and severit3\'* 

He died at Jackson about 1S7(>. • 

Judge J. W. Hi:.\s<t.\ is one of the intelligent, active, 
Well known citizens of the county, in the present gene- 
ration. His residence is distant a few miles from West 
Bend. He is in good circumstances, an active member 
of the West Bend Baptist churcli. a pleasant friend, and 
a popular citizen.'"' 

Judge Henson married Mrs. G. Scruggs. Her 
daughter, the daughter of Gross Scruggs, a young lady 
attending school at Tuskaloosa in 1874. was recently 
married to F. Malone, of Coffeeville. .ludge Henson 
lias two daughters, now in girlhood, and one son. 

COLoNKL KOHKKT liKoO.XAX. 

R. Brodnax was boi-ii in Hancock county, Georgia, 
in 1792. 

In the war of 1S12 he was a lieutenant in the service 
of the United States and was engaged in contlict with 
the Indians. He married Miss Olive Whitaker and re- 
moved to Autauga county in Alabama. He represented 
that county for eight years, from 1825 to 1832. in the state 
legislature, and in 1834 was state senator from the same 
county. + He afterward removed to Perry county and 
became connected with a commission house in Mobile. 
In the Indian \Var of ls36 he commanded apart "of 

* October, 1878. " Ue lias bi-comc Cdliiiuclcd witli tin- large t-lotliiiijj; house of 
M. P. Levy it Co., Mobile. His energy, industry, and gentlt-manly qualities are 
well known and ensure hiui success in any business in which he engages."' 1S82. 
Now connected with a hardware store. 

+ Elder P. F. Kirven says ''for thirteen years successively " he ri'presented the 
county: and Oarrett says, six years in the House and five in the Senate. I have 
followed Brewer. T. H. B. 



474 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

P^loycrs army with brevet rank ot" Brigadier CTeneral,'" 
and received praise from General Seott. About LS4t^) 
the commission house of whicli he was a member failed. 
At about the same time his wife died. Some time after 
these domestic and finnncial losses, he married Miss H. 
E. Kirven, daughter of Rev. William Kirven, spent 
two years in Cuba to learn in regard to the culture and 
manufacture of Havana tobacco, and settling in Clarke 
county, a few" miles south of Suggsville, he introduced 
there the cultivation of tobacco and engaged in the 
manufacture of cigars, establishing thus in the county 
a new branch of industry. 

In 1863 lie was state senator for Clarke, Monroe, and 
Baldwin. 

After the civil war he removed to Brazil and en- 
deavored again to repair his financial losses. While 
residing there he aided in the organization of a Bajitist 
church, which is said to have been the onl^^ one in that 
empire, and was ordained as deacon. In 1S74 lie re- 
turned to Alabama, and died July :^T, 1877, at the 
residence of G. E. Jones, his son-in-law, near Dixon's 
Mills, in Marengo county, at the advanced age of eighty- 
five years. 

As connected with the history of Clarke county 
Colonel Brodnax' efforts belong to those ten prosperous 
years from 1850 to 1860, and are specially connected 
with the manufacture of that great staple tobacco. 
The sketch of his life given above, resting on four 
authorities besides some personal knowledge, shows 
that he was a resolute, enterprising man, a zealous 
Baptist, and that he died full of years and with abun- 
dant honor. 



SKETCHES OF OTHER FHOiMINENT CITIZENS. 475 

AKMISTKAl). 

Ill tlie year l(i20, that vear ever memorable for the 
landing of the Pilgrim Fathers, there came from Kng- 
hnid to the Old Dominion Robert Armistead. Robert, 
.fohn, James, and Westwood, the latter from a connect- 
ed English family, have been favorite names in this 
line. Somewhat recently the line in the United States 
has been carefully traced back, as a large amount of 
money, said to amount tf) twenty millions of dollars, 
fell by inheritance from England to some members ot 
the family. A descendant of the Robert named above. 
Captain William Akmisikad, and three sons, Robert, 
Westwood, and John, became citizens of Clarke. The 
father was a man of strong peculiarities, a gentleman 
of the old school, wearing knee buckles, and retaining 
English tastes. He was twice married. He had three 
sons and three daughters. One daughter married John 
Morriss in North Carolina. Another married Edmund 
Waddill. The third married Dr. jSTeal Smith. 

John Morriss came into this region to look for a new 
home. He selected a location, but from his second 
trip he never returned to his family. He is supposed 
to have been killed by Indians. He had two sons, 
William A. and George W., and two daughters. Cap- 
tain Armistead with his family, and the Morriss and 
Waddill families, and also the Presnall family, removed 
to Clai-ke. They settled on the Choctaw line east of 
Bassett's Creek in 1818. One daughter of John Mor- 
riss married Thomas Boroughs. The other, who is 
still living, nuirried Colonel Forwood. AVestwood 
Armistead, one of the three sons mentioned above, 
married a sister of Thomas Boroughs. Another of the 
sons, John Armistead, went to Texas. Still another. 



47') CLARKE AND ITS SUKROUNDINGS. 

married, lived in the nortli part of the county, and 
died in February, 1845. Mrs. Elizabeth Armistead, 
his wife and widow, is an aged woman residing near 
AVoods Bluff. * She had several children. Among 
the sons these are prominent men in the north of Clarke 
and in Marengo, 

.1 AMES W. Armistead. Bkyon Armistead, William 
W. Armistead, and Robert S. Armistead. One of 
these lives on the Mountain. 

The following is a copy from a marble slab. "In 
memorj of Capt. Wm. Armistead, a soldier of the 
Tte volution, a native of A'irginia, who departed this 
life March 1, 1842, aged 80 years.'" 

The grave stands alone, due north and south, neatly 
enclosed with rocks and pickets, on a hill near Amity 
church, on what is known as the Smitli j)lace, taking 
its name from Dr. Neal Smith. 

Xot many miles north, (ju this same Ghoctaw line, 
stands the grave and memorial stone of another revolu- 
tionary soldier, 

Thomas Bradford. A slight enclosure surrounds 
this lone burial spot, and the head stone, with its few 
and simple words, reminds every passer by of man's 
mortality, and also that the dust is sleeping there of 
one of the "soldiers of '76, the Immortal Band," of 
whom a South Carolina patriot, an eloquent Christian 
lawyer, asks the touching, the thrilling question, Shall 
they "meet again in the amai-anthine bowers of spot- 
less purity, of perfect bliss, of eternal gloiy ^ " 

Thomas Bradford had two sons, Brasil and Nathan. 
A son of the latter, Jamks Bradford, lives near Rocky 
Mount, and was the founder of that church. 

* sin- (liod M:iv (1, 1879, in the (Mirhtv-scvcnth vo;ir of lirr aso. 



SKETCHES OF OTMEli l'ROMIx\ENT CITIZENS. 477 

W.M. A. MoKiMss. mentioned al)()ve, ninrrieil Miss 
Nancy flearin. He was for many years an inMiiential 
citizen, a county commissioner, a prosperous planter. 
He died some years ago. 

He l)as three sons living and four daughters. One 
married J. B. Mobley. Another mari'ied Dr. Bai'nes. 
One married Robert 1^. Ezell. 

A number of wealth}- and intluential families, it 
thus appears, have been connected together in vai'ious 
relations. 

COLOXEL SAMl'Kl, FdKWOOD, 

A native of Maryland, born in May, 1799, about 
twent_y-five miles from Baltimore, near the Susquehanna 
river, not far from the Pennsylvania line, his father, 
John Forwood, representing for seventeen successive 
terms his county in the Maryland legislature, S. For- 
wood commence ! life amid favoraVjle surroundings. In 
1S2-!: he visited the West — not the West of this day — 
where he had relatives, looking for a location. He 
thought Ohio was too far from market, wheat then sell- 
ing at twelve and a half cents a bushel, and no facilities 
for transportation appearing. He did not fore-see that 
in a few years, in all of what was then the North-West. 
it would be almost impossible to be out of hearing of 
the rail-road whistle. He travelled, next, over the 
South-East. He fancied the navigable rivers of Ala- 
bama, lie came to Claiborne, and in 1826 began to sell 
goods in what became a part of Clarke county. He 
established a store at Suggsville. At that time large 
amounts of goods were sold at Claiborne. The busi- 
ness of Claiborne and St. Stephens is placed for those 
years at a half million dollars annually. Cotton was 
bought in large quantities, high prices were paid, there 



478 CLARKE AXD ITS SURROUNDIXGS. 

was much coinpetiticjn, and only a few buyers made 
money. Claiborue contained, it is said, at that time 
fifteen hundred or two tliousand inhabitants. Since 
1831 Col. Forwood has resided continuously in Clarke. 
He bought the Murphy estate at Gosport, the landing, 
and lands of the AViggins estate whicli had been uni- 
versity land. For four hundred and fifty acres of the 
Murphy estate he paid nine thousand dollars. He at 
length held about six thousand acres. Purchasing the 
lauding in 1831 he opened there a store and built a 
warehouse, and made that place his home. He was 
married in 1834 to Miss Mcrriss, a daughter of John 
Morriss ; visited Maryland in 1835 ; and in 1836 re- 
moved to Gosport Retreat, where he still resides, ap- 
parently as active and vigorous as many men of only 
sixty years. 

He has four sons natives of Clarke county. One of 
these married a daughter of S. Coale, and one married 
a daughter of Judge H. W. Coate. 

In 1839 and 1840 he represented Clarke county in 
the state legislature, was a member of the state consti- 
tutional convention in 1865, and of the legislature in 
1876. He has during all these years occupied a promi- 
nent position in public and in private life, and has 
transacted a large amount of business, as a merchant, a 
planter, and as administrator of estates. " The fruits 
of his industry in private life were nearly all swe))t 
away by the unhappy civil war. His landed estate, 
however, could not be destroyed. He was left with 
five thousand acres, and with freedmen to work it.'' 
"The Colonel is now in his eightieth year, the sole 
survivor of a large family of bi-others and sisters, but 
he is said to retain a large share of his wonderful vig- 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PltO.MlNKNT CITIZENS. 479 

or. mental and })hysical, wliich has iviulered liini a 
conspicuous man, far and near, through the many 
years that he has traveled earth's pilgrimage.'" 
{y:E(/is and Intelligencer of Maryland.) One of Colo- 
nel Foi-wood's sons. Dr. AV. S. Forwood, resides at 
Darlington in Maryland. He is the author of an in- 
teresting volume on the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky, 
published in 1S70.* 

Archibald SM(tOT was a resident of St. Stephens in 
the years ol its growth and prosperity. He has been 
a prominent citizen of this county, and has passed 
through its eventful years and scenes. He is about 
eighty years of age and is now, December 1$77, lying- 
very low at his residence in Jackson, f 

G.MNESTOwx, in the older settled portion of the 
count}-, was an early center as a voting precinct for 
Monroe county, afterward for Clarke county, and as a 
place for trade and busi)iess. Historic ground lies all 
around it. 

It is the liome of Edward Marshall, a brother of 
William Marshall of Mobile, who is one of the present 
business men of the village and who carries on a tan- 
nery at that place. 

Gainestown was settled by the Fishers. Samuel 
Fisher married an Indian woman, probably a Creek. 
He used to run a barge on the river. Josiah Fisher 
mai'ried a Chickasaw woman. 

These both went west with the Indians. About a 
mile from Gainestown lived and died the tather of 
Governor Gayle. Mrs. Finch, now Mrs. Henderson, 

♦1879. One of the younger son*: is now in t"ol.>ra(lo, out from Denver, ai 
Crescent Butte, engaged in mining. 

+ He die.l January 7th 1878, " after a protracted illness," " one of the very oldest 
and best citizens of this countv." 



4S0 CLAKKK ANP ITS SU KKOUN DINGS. 

seoms Xo be the only povst^ii li\ ing in tlie eounty \vh'.> 
reinenibers seeing Miss Ainsworrh, atterwards the 
wife oi' (Tovenior (luyle. 

.l.vMKs M. JA0Ksu^^ one of the present eonnty eoni- 
niissiouers. has been for a long time a resident at 
Gainestown. He man-ied a danghter of that pioneer 
minister Elder French. Re is now one of the promi- 
nent, and aetive. and intelligent citizens of the ecnmty. 
The location t>f the old Maubila at French's Landing 
rather than at Choctaw Blntt" is dne to his investigati«>ns 
and suggestions. 

Dr. IIknky (t. D.vvis. a member ot' the family once 
residing at Rock Castle, is now the resident physician 
at Gainestown. 

Dr. Xeal SMrrn, born in North Carolina, Moore 
county, in 17S4, became a resident in (^larke in ISIB. 
He was a man oi' some peculiarities, a planter and a 
physician, and also a politician. He was the second 
state senator from the county, having commenced his 
tirst term in 18:22, and he occupied that position for 
twelve years. He was also representative in 1S27 and 
again in 1835. Although not on the more popular 
side in pol tics he was quite a popular man, and as a 
physician had considerable practice. He died in 1867, 
at the advanced age of eighty-three, and by all who 
knew him, the children of the families where he vis- 
ited, he will long be remembered. Me was a great 
reader and a tiuent sj^eaker. a man ot' intelligence and 
of judgment. 

A slight change of circumstances while he was sen- 
ator in 183t>, the incidents of which Brewer relates in 
one way and Garrett in another, would have placed 
him in the position of governor in 1837. It so hap- 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 481 

pened, probabl}' by more adroit vvire-workin*^-. that 
Hugh McVay of Lauderdale instead of himself became 
that year the presiding officer of the senate, and thus 
when a vacancy occurred the next year filled for four 
months the office of state governor. Dr. Smith has 
seven daugliters living, three in Clarke county, and 
one son. 

Bishop Hicks is now an aged man residing on the 
east side of Bassett's Creek, north of Vashti and the 
Amity church. He is a representative of quite an old 
and large family in the county, the younger members 
of which are somewhat scattered, and no concise account 
of them can here be given. 

General Joseph B. Chambers was one of the early 
prominent and wealthy citizens. He built what was 
called the White House, He was the first state sen- 
ator from Clarke county, his term of office commencing 
in 1819. He had several daughters, one of whom was 
married to Joseph King. 

IV. Sl'GQSVILLK. 

William Suggs was one of the first residents at this 
place, settling here as early as 1814. He had a small store 
in 1815, and at first the hamlet was called Suggs store. 
A town was laid out in 1819 east of the county line, and 
lots sold. The proprietors of this Monroe addition 
were Enoch Parsons, John G. Creagh, William Ken- 
nedy, W. H. Jones, and Ira Portis. The surveyor was 
Daniel Cameron. 

Robert G. PIayden was an early settler near Suggs- 
ville. He had one of the first tanneries. He had also 
a small shoe factory, about 1815. Near the tannery, 
31 



482 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

some three miles south of Suggsville, lived Colonel 
George Fisher. 

Bronson Barlow, an early resident, gave the name 
to Barlow's Bend. The Fisher mentioned above, Colo- 
nel Fisher, was of a different family from those who 
are mentioned as first settling at Gainestown. He was 
an uncle of Colonel John Fisher, a member of Congress 
from North Carolina. His daughter was married to 
James G. Lyon of St. Stephens. 

Abraham Presnell was another early resident near 
Suggsville. The Presnell families are elsewhere men- 
tioned, there written Presnall. (See page 364.) 

PORTIS. 

Ira Portis, son of John Portis, of Fishing Creek, 
Ransom's Bridge, Roanoke River, in North Carolina, 
came to Clarke county in 1818, settled near Suggsville, 
and died September 8, 1825, being forty-seven years of 
age. The home in North Carolina was also known as 
the Portis' Gold Mines. 

The European ancestor of the Portis family, George 
Portis, came from Wales, and settled at the Isle of 
Wight in Virginia, tradition says, in 1760, and was 
buried in the old Petersburg cemetery. 

Ira Portis had eight children born in North Carolina: 
Mary Ann, Joseph P., Solomon W., Samuel G., David 
Y., Lavina, Maria H. and John Wesley. 

The mother of these children died September 9, 
1818, and the next year, in 1819, their fatlier married 
Miss Goodwin, who soon died, and in 1820 he was 
again married to Miss Mary Marsh. Three children 
were afterward added to the fainih' : Edmund M., Ben- 
jamin P. and Darius M. Of the five sons and three 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 488 

daughters wlio came an children into Alabama Territory 
ill 1818, the year after its organization, three' are now 
living. 

Joseph P. Portis was judge of the county court. In 
1846 he removed to Texas, was appointed commissioner 
of the land office for the state of Texas, and died there 
about 1850. 

David Y. Portis is now a resident of San Antonio, 
Texas. 

Edmund M. Portis married, for his second wife, 
Miss Margaret Creighton, a sister of Rev. Hiram 
Creighton. He had one son, Thomas Jefferson Por- 
tis, who became a lawyer, who married an accom- 
plished lady at Cahawba, and in 1853 was Principal ot 
the Cahawba Female Academy. He was talented, edu- 
cated, and a prominent citizen. After the civil war he 
spent some time in Chicago. 

The daughters of Edmund M. Portis were, Elizabeth, 
who became Mrs. Pope and went to Mississippi ; Sarah, 
who married Piiickney Pogue ; and Martha, who be- 
came Mrs. Shaw, the wife of a merchant in Dallas 
county. The home of this family was near Grove 
Hill. ]\lrs. Portis survived her husband for. several 
years. She died in 1859 and was laid beside his dust 
in the Spinks Chapel cemetery. They were both con- 
sidered very excellent people. An allusion to their 
home will be found in the chapter on the colored people. 
That home spot is desolate now, although near the 
abodes of life and love. N^o white nor colored children 
sport beneath its shades at eventide ; but the old mul- 
berry tree that stood in the yard, considered to be the 
largest one in the county, still yields its fruit in early 
spring-time to the passer-by. 



484 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS, 

John W. Portis was but an infant in his mother's 
arms, when he first breathed the air amid the pines in 
the new Alabama Territory, and very soon after reach- 
ing the new home in Clarke that mother died. When 
he reached the period of vouth, having lost his father 
by death when about seven years of age, he was sent 
into an old state for school advantages, and was edu- 
cated at the University of Virginia. He studied law 
at Claiborne in the office of Cooper and Parsons, and 
settled as a lawyer at Suggsville. He married Miss 
Rebecca Rivers, a daughter of Richard Rivers. They 
have three sons, Ernest, Rivers, and Ira ; and four 
daughters, Emma, Ella, Mary, and Lucy. Miss Emma, 
the oldest daughter, is mentioned in other chapters. 
Colonel Portis represented the county in 1843 and 1S44. 
He was a trustee of the University of Alabama from 
1844 to 1858. He was a member of the Democratic 
Presidential Conventions at Cincinnati, at Charleston, 
and at Baltimore. When war arose he enlisted as a 
private in 1861 and was elected lieutenant of a company 
in the Second Alabama infantry. In 1862 he became 
colonel of the Forty-Second Alabama, in which Thomas 
J. Portis of Dallas county was adjutant. At the battle 
of Corinth he was wounded and returned home. He 
resumed the practice of law. he and James S. Dickin- 
son, of Grove Hill, having long been the two leading- 
lawyers of the county. He is at present postmaster 
also, and engaged to some extent in merchandizing, the 
results of the war having with him, as with so many 
others, straitened the former easy financial affairs of 
life. He g"ives attention, more than many, to flowers 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZHINS. 485 

and fruits. In his garden may be seen some rare 
plants." 

Colonel Portis is a member of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church, very intelligent and hospitable, a kind 
neighbor, and valuable friend. He has an article of 
furniture that inay well be called an heirloom. It is a 
rich stand, — -on which the notes were written for some of 
these records, — brought from Sumter district, South 
Carolina, in 1809, by Benjamin CNeal. B. O'Neal and 
Samuel Minis settled east of the river near Montgomei'y 
Hill, in what is now Baldwin county. S. Sims settled 
there before 1T9T. Joseph P. Portis, who removed to 
Texas, married the daughter of B. O'Neal, and from 
her this article of furniture, with its Carolina and In- 
dian-war associations, came into the hands of its present 
owner. 

James Smith, born in Georgia, one of the pioneer 
settlers, was one of the heroic three engaged in the 
"canoe light.''' He is described as a very brave and 
daring man, of great personal powers, at that time 
twenty-five years of age, and weighing one hundred and 
sixty-five pounds. He contributed very materially to 
the success of the canoe engagement. He finally re- 
moved to East Mississippi where he died. 

RoBKRT CouRTXF,Y. now au aged citizen of Clarke, 

* " Grove Hill, Aug. 28, 1878. 

Mk. Grant:— I send you soiiu- specimens of flowers and fruit gathered from 
Col. Portis" garden and orchard in Snggsville. The banana tree is a rare curiosity 
and would well repay one for a visit to see it. The leaves measure about nine feet 
and are very beautiful with the clusters of flowers and fruit intersi>ersed amid the 
rich foliage. The date tree from which I gathered this specimen is a handsome 
tree resembling the plum. The fruit is now ripe. The oleander is a magnificent 
blooming tree, very fragrant and well repays the trouble of cultivation. 

Yours, truly, E. H. Woodakd. 

The specimens were received and we return thanks for them. These plants 
are rare in this latitude, and few of our people have ever seen any of them." 



486 CLARKE AIJO) ITS SUKROUlOJrNGS. 

one of tlie young men engaged in that expedition under 
Captain Dale, married a daughter of James Smith. 

John W. Walker is another still remaining of those 
pioneer settlers, now aged men. 

Among the active and enterprising men of Suggs- 
ville between 1850 and 1860 was S. Coale. He estab- 
lished there the Eagle factory, and was engaged in 
making and repairing wagons, carriages, and buggies. 
He is a member of the ]\Iethodist Church and was one 
of a number at Suggsville to engage in the Sabbath 
school work. He now resides near Gosport. He has 
three sons, Skipwith Coale, a merchant at Choctaw 
Corner, Samuel Coale, and George Coale. He has 
four daughters. Mrs. T. J. Cowan at West Bend, Mrs. 
P. Booth. Mrs. Forwood. and Miss B. Coale. The lat- 
ter is an accomplished teacher. 

Of the various teachers at Suggsville but little in- 
formation has been obtained. 

Professor Louis Manx, who was teacher of music at 
Suggsville from 1854 till his death, was drowned in the 
river, on a return trip from Mobile, the steamer on which 
he was a passenger meeting with a disaster, October 29, 
1865. The Lodge tribute of respect to his memory was 
adopted Xovember 11, 1865. 

Mrs. A. E. Mann and her children not long after- 
wards went to the state of Minnesota, and since 1868 
she has been a teacher in one of the public schools of 
Chicago. She has in that city a pleasant home. 

Her oldest daughter is married, her son is in busi- 
ness in the city, and all the family are in pleasant and 
])rosperous circumstances. 

There is a tradition that at the house where Mrs. 
Mann resided in Suggsville, General La Fayette stopped 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMIXEXT CITIZEXS. 487 

and was entertained when on his way from Georgia to 
Mobile. This, like several of the Jackson traditions. 
is unreliable. 

A slight tradition has located the noted Barnum for 
a short time in Clarke county. Such traditions should 
be received as cautiously as the legends of Herodotus. 

James D. Caller, who died some years ago. left two 
sons and one daughter. William Caller, the elder son, 
married Miss Marshall, a daughter of Edward Marshall 
of Gainestown. Mrs. Caller and her younger son are 
living south of Suggsville. 

Captain William McConxell. an early settler near 
G(jsport, was captain of militia in the days of general 
musters. He was a man of much personal powers. He 
married a sister of James D. Caller. His sons were 
Green B.. John, and Nathaniel J. John McConnell is 
living in Texas. Green B. McCoimell was a lieutenant 
then captain in the Confederate army. He returned 
home, became a member of the Methodist church, and 
died a few years ago. 

Nathaniel J. McCoxxell is now living with his 
mother near Lower Peach Tree. Captain Wm. McCon- 
nell lived to be over iiinetv vears of asre. 

RODGERS. 

About the year I^IS two brothers, perhaps with their 
father, came among the pioneer bands. These were 
BoxAPARTE RoDtrERS.who soou Went to Mississippi, and 
Absalom Rodgers. The latter married Miss Eleanor 
Walker. His sons were James X., Wesley, Andrew 
H . and John X. Two daughters were Miss Eleanor, 
who married Captain B. Anderson, and Miss Lavinia, 
who married M. S. Ezell. 



488 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Andrew H. Rodgeks was married to Miss Susan 
Bettis, a daughter of Judge Bettis. 

John N. Rodgeus married Miss Mary Nettles. 

James N. Rodgers was also married to a young lady 
in Clarke. 

Turner Starke, who had been a sailor, came from 
South Carolina to Alabama about 1835. He had three 
daughters, Sarah, Martha, and Fannie. 

Miss Martha Starke, who, about 1845, was married 
to Judge Goodloe, was a young lady of more than or- 
dinary intellectual and social qualities. Her religious 
experience was very decided and satisfactory when slie 
became a member of the Pigeon Creek church. Of 
this church her father was a member. 

Miss Martha in her girlhood sometimes undertook 
more than she could accomplish. She took the family 
clock to pieces one day for some purpose and put it to- 
gether again; but she said there were pieces enough 
left to make another clock. The tradition does not 
state how well the old one kept time after her experi- 
ment was performed. 

Judge B. I. GooDLOB resided for several years near 
Suggsville. He was quite wealthy as was also his father 
in-law, T. Starke. He had been a planter and a lawyer 
before his residence in Clarke. About the year 1867 he 
removed to Louisiana, but returned to Alabama, settled 
at Claiborne, and there died. 

Nearly all the wealthy families in and around Suggs- 
ville have been broken up by the changes of the last 
twelve years. 

Judge W. R. Hamilton removed from South Caro- 
lina in 1818. He settled first on the Alabama, above 
Claiborne. Those who opened the first plantations in 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 489 

the cane and in the river bottoms liad to undergo many 
privations and also to perform much hard labor. It was 
necessary to guard hogs on this plantation to keep the 
bears from destroying them. 

Here as elsewhere success crowned effort. 

Judge Hamilton's sons are Colonel William J. 
Hamilton and Charles D. Hamilton. His daughter, 
Miss Rebecca, married Warren Gwinn. 

CLEVELAND. 

James Cleveland was the head of a wealthy, influ- 
ential, and distinguished family, early residents near 
Suggsville. He had three sons and two daughters, and 
two older sons. 

Major Stephen B. Cleveland, the oldest of the 
three, married a daughter of Gerard W. Creagh. He 
led a company of mounted men from Clarke county in 
the late war, a company belonging to a regiment re- 
cruited by General Wirt Adams of Mississippi. Cap- 
tain Cleveland was promoted and was succeeded by 
Captain John Y. Kilpatrick. This company is classed 
by Brewer among "Miscellaneous Commands." The 
regiment performed duty in the state of Mississippi. 
Before raising the company of cavalry Colonel Cleve- 
land was captain of a company of infantry from Clarke, 
in the second Alabama regiment, organized at Fort 
Morgan in April, 1861. 

Jeremiah A. Cleveland married a daughter of Elder 
John G.Williams of Marengo. He died in June, 1865, 
leaving a family of young children. Some of these are 
now entering manhood and womanhood, and with their 
mother are residing at the family home south of Yashti, 
on the Choctaw line road. Mrs. Cleveland seems to 
have succeeded well in bringing up her children. 



490 CLARKK AND ITS SURROUNDINGS, 

Alonzo B. 0. CLKVKi,ANi),the third brothor.also mar- 
ried a daughter of Ehler John (1. Williams*. He died 
after the close of the war, and Mrs. Cleveland afterward 
married Washino-ttvn Hill, the vounnest brother of Elder 
William Hill. 

Miss Nancy Clkveland married Y. Goodloe, a 
brother of Judge Goodloe of 8uggs\ille. 

Miss ^IiNKKVA Ci.KVKLANi), the vouugest child, is not 
nuirried, so far as has been ascertained. 

The Cleveland family were Baptists. James Cleve- 
land was a member of the Pigeon Creek church. Two 
<^)f the sons were baptized by Bev. H. Creighton. 

K/.KI.I.. 

William 8. E/.kli- came witli the Wilson family in 
1817. First locating on the Alabama river these fam- 
ilies afterward settled a few miles south of Suggsville. 

MiEL EzELL has been for many years an active and 
prominent citizen. His life has but just closed. For 
fifty years he kept a diary, more or less full, recording 
important passing events. A list of circuit preachei's 
and a list of deaths, taken from this reconl, will be 
tound in their propei' places. 

The last official position held by M. Ezell was the 
county superintendency of public schools*. 

ITis health was much improved in ISTJ-, when the 
author met him at the sulphur well near Jackson, where 
he was spending some time in order t(^ recruit. He 
approved of this proposed work, but before the autumn 
of 1877 came he had departed this life. 

His daughter. Miss Anxie Ezell, then residing at 
the family home, kindly furnished the rec(u-ds referred 
to above. 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 491 

MiEL S. EzELL, a nepliew of M. Ezell, resides four 
miles from Grove Hill, on tlie Claiborne road. He 
succeeded his uncle as County Superitendent of 
Schools, having been appointed in March 1H74 and 
holding the office for two years, lie formerly resided 
at Grove Hill. His wife was Miss L. Tiodgers, a mem- 
ber of quite a large family in this county. They have 
no children. They brought up as wards, R. B. Flem- 
ing, J. W. Fleming, and their sister Miss Jane 
Fleming, who married James W. Dickinson of Grove 
Hill. M. S. Ezell has been in good circumstances, ac- 
customed always to an abundance in life. He is a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. 
The three Wilson, Finch, and Ezell families, neighbors 
and friends for two generations, have generally been 
members of this church. They have also been prom- 
inent in respect to wealth and position. 

Robert L. Ezell, residing at Suggs ville, is another 
member of this family. His wife was a daughter of 
W. A. IViorriss. 

WILSON. 

Joshua Wilson was born in Virginia in 1760. He 
removed to North Carolina, and at length, in 1817, 
settled in Clarke. He died near Gainestown in 1S44, 
eighty-four years of age. 

He was a member of the Methodist church, a local 
pi'eacher, ''a devotedly ])ious man." 

He had four sons and two daughtei'S. One of the 
daughters became Mrs. Finch ; the other was Mrs. 
Ezell. 

Two of the sons, Joshua S. and William W. were 
physicians. The other two were John R. and James M. 



492 CLARKE A^'D ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

James M. "Wilson had three or four sons and 
two daughters. This family removed to Texas. 

Dr. Joshua S. Wilson, a physician at Suggsville, 
had no children. 

Dr. William W. Wilsox had five sons ; Rush. Os- 
ceola, Omar, Walter, and Byron. 

John R. Wilsox had six sons : Amos C G. D.. L. 
E.. A. J.. W. W.. and Jack R. 

Amos C. Wilsox was captain of the steamboat built 
on Cedar Creek. This boat would carry about eight 
hundred bales of cotton. 

Judge Jack R. Wilsox, elected Probate Judge in 
1S6T and re-elected in 1874, has seven sons and three 
daughters. He resides in Grove Hill. Two of the 
daughters are married : one to John Gwynn. the other 
to M. B. Du Bose. Principal of Grove Hill Academy. 

JoHX Wilsox, oldest son of Judge Wilson, per- 
forms, to a large extent, the duties of the office. He 
married Miss Faxxie P. Mayer of Lower Peach Tree. 

Osceola Wilsox, son of Dr. Wilson, held for a time 
the office of county treasurer. 

The Wilson family took at the close of the war in 
1865, a position in politics which gave to them a large 
political influence in the county. They" are connected 
by marriage with other influential families. Some 
members of this family have been noted for strong re- 
ligious principle and for longevity. 

v. various localities. 

From Gainestown Landing or Sizemore's ferry there 
is a road leading to Blakely. About twelve miles 
down on this road, or four miles beyond Little River, 
a road was cut out, called "the three-notch road, 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 498 

because of tliree notches, instead of mere blazing, cut 
in the trees by the road-side. This road leads direct 
to Pensacola, and tradition asserts that it was cut out 
by order of General Jackson. 

The following incident of pioneer ferry life is given 
on traditional authority. 

Two white men one day wished to cross the Ala- 
bama at this ferry and Mrs. Sizemore herself, who was 
part Indian, a sister of Peggy Bailey, acted as ferry- 
man. On the way over the men complained about the 
fare, said it was too much. She capsized them and 
«wam out, supposing that of course all men could 
swim. But one of these men was in danger of drown- 
ing, and she immediately swam back and brought him 
up and took him to the shore. He probably did not 
complain ab(jut the fare again. 

In the water's edge near the landing at Gainestowu 
there ai"e now about one hundred and twentv-five laro-e 
pieces of rock, resembling, at the first glance, large 
cotton bales lying in the water. These were quarried 
in 1863 from a ledge of rock a quarter of a mile above, 
for the purpose of making an obstruction in the river. 
They were cut out for an estimated weight of two tons 
each. It is fortunate for the interests of navigation 
that they are not now in the bed of the river. Thev 
are fossiliferous, abounding in shells, concretions of 
shell, and lime. They are now very hard. 

At this landing is the residence of James M. Jack- 
sox, who was born in 1809, whose father came to this 
region in 1816, and who has been for many vears a 
prominent citizen of the county, one of the countv 
commissioners, a postmaster, a man of general intelli- 
gence and usefulness. 



494 CLARKE AXD ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

James Waldrom came t'rora South Carolina after 
tlie War of 1S12. He married Miss Mary "Walker. 

William Walker was quite an early resident. He 
l«id one of the first mills, on a creek which took the 
name of Walker. A house erected for his son-in-law, 
is said by descendants of the family to be yet stand- 
ing and to have over it the original roof made of 
cypress shingles the date being still upon the roof of 
1818. The mill-stones for the Walker mill were cut 
out of lime stone rock at a quan-y close by the mill. 
Walter Walker kept a ferry on Bassetts creek. The 
Walker family made butter and cheese and took it U) 
Pensacola in a wagon. There they did their market- 
ing. They made money rapidly and spent it freely. 
Walker spring is a sulphur spring near the Walker 
bridge, on the south side of the creek, and on the 
Gainestown road. A new sulphur spring was afterwards 
discovered on the north side, near Mt. Gilead church, 
which is still kept up. although it is no resort for health 
or pleasure. 

Mrs. Mathews, elsewhere mentioned, now an aged 
widow living with her sons and daughters on the Jack- 
son road a few miles from Grove Hill, was a daughter 
of James Waldrom. and granddaughter of William 
Walker. She says that about the old home everything 
is changed except the creek. That large creek, which 
might fittingly be called Kimbell river, like the Eu- 
phrates of old. still ''tiows along, eternal nature's 
work." 

Among the prominent citizens of Jackson is Dr. F. 
L. Sewall, whose father was an early resident, and 
who for many years was the principal physician at 
Jackson. Some of his sons attended the school at 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PKOMIXEXT CIITZENS. 495 

Rockviile in 1854 where their relative. Dr. "\V. H. 
Bridges, was tlien the resident physician. One of tliese 
sons at length studied medicine, and in 1874 was a 
resident pliysician at Grove Hill. 

Dr. Sewall is a man of intelligent thought, a well 
read, successful physician, and has for many years 
occupied a prominent position in the community. He 
now resides a few miles from the town. 

Of the settlers in the old Spanish times, such as 
Solomon Wheat. Peter Beach, Hiram Mounger. whose 
date of settlement is given as 1790. and who bought 
the Spanish grant whicli included a part of the Sun- 
Flbwer Bend, and his brother-in-law Denby, few repre- 
sentatives remain. 

JosiAH Carxky came about 1809. He built Carney's 
fort on the river at GuUett's bluff. It is claimed that 
the Indians exainined his fort and concluded to take 
Fort Mims. 

This fort on the Tombigbee was out of Creek terri- 
tory and did not contain many occupants. It is n<jt 
probable that the Indians cared particularly to com- 
mence so far west near the Choctaws. 

Mrs. Blackwell, now living with Peter Gwynn or 
Gwinn; near Jackson, represents a family that came in 
early times. The following incident of her girlhood 
rests on good authority, and illustrates different facTs 
and principles. 

During the Indian war her father's family were in 
Fort Carney. 

Her father knew nothing about managing a boat and 
had forbidden her to go to the river, fearing no doubt 
for her personal safety. 

Tlie daughter, however, slipped off secretly to the 



496 CLARKE A>'D ITS 3URROr>'T>I>'GS. 

river, when <jpportunities were presented, and acquired 
skill in paddling and rowing upon the swift current. 
One day there was an alarm that Indians were coming, 
and the greater safety was then known to be on the 
other side of the river. But how could the family cross 
the waters of the Tombigbee i The daughter procured 
a skiff, took the family including her father on board. 
and, greatly, to his astonishment, rowed the boat with 
her own skillful aruis across the river, out of all reach 
at that time of any danger from the Indians. Probably 
that father was very ready then to forgive the disobedi- 
ence of his wavward, but courageous and heroic daucrh- 
ter. Too close restrictions ought not to be placed upon 
children ; but it is a child's duty to be obedient.* 

TViLLiAM MoRRT FoxTAixE camc to this county in 
1812. Settled near Suggsville. Married in 1S19. 

His father, who wrote his name De La Fontaine, 
came from France to Virginia, then went to Louisville. 
Kentucky, where nine daughters grew up and married, 
residing in and around the city. 

W. M. Fontaine, the brother of these nine sisters, 
the representative of the Fontaine family in Clarke, 
had six sons and three daughters. Five of the sons 
are still living. These sons were named Floyd. Terrel. 
Morry. La Fayette, George, and Walter. 

Tereel Foxtaixe commenced business at Choctaw 
Corner in 1856. Went to Clay Hill, in the edge of 
Marengo, then located at Bashi in 1866. Sold goods 
till 1873 amounting annually to about ^1k>J)()0. Since 
that time so many new stores have Vjeen opened in the 

*Mrs. Blackwell, the mother of Mrs. S. Parker, died in the fall of 1^9. eighty 
years of age. 

Mrs*. Allen, the mother of Cyrus Allen, al.-o died in 1879, about ninety years 
of aze. 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMIXEXT CITIZENS. 497 

suiTouiuling neighborhoods that business has not been 
so good. At this store there have been taken in, in 
'*ne year, one hundred and liftv bales of cotton. 

Dk. Dumas, a retired physician, whose grandfather 
came from France, whose father resided in Xorth 
Carolina, who began to practice in Alabama in 1S37, 
and in this county in 1858, now lives near the Bashi 
store. 

These two families are among the few representa- 
tives now in the county of that great nation that once - 
held the control of so large a part of this South East. 

CuARLES Po<>LE. bom in Tennessee, came into Ala- 
bama in childhood, his father settling near Huntsville 
wlien he was about three years of age. and removing 
to Tiiskaloosa when he was about seven years of age. 
When about twenty-four years of age he came into the 
county of Clarke. Commenced business at Choctaw 
C<)rner in 1846. Cotton was then low. ranging from 
three and three -fourths, to five and three-fourths cents 
a pound. In a year or two it went up to thirteen cents. 
and then money was abundant in every one's pocket. 
The people in the cotton belt had now about recovered 
from the depressions caused by the financial crash of 
1837. 

With the exception of an absence for S(.>me five 
years in Mississippi C. Poole has continued in business 
at the Corner amid all the changes of times for the last 
thirty years. 

I Present merqjiandizing business of Choctaw Corner, 
for the year, 830,000. All kinds of business, $40,000. ). 

The first wife of C. Poole was Miss Fontaine, sister 
of T. Fontaine of Bashi. She had one daughter, just 
entering womanhood, who graduated at Summerfield, 
32 



498 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

returned home, and in a few short weeks was numbered 
with the dead. So brief is sometimes liuman life. 
Tlius uncertain are all its prospects. 

Lycukgus Poole, in former years a merchant at the 
Corner, also married a Miss Fontaine, and after her 
death he married Miss McCall, who had been a teacher 
at Suggs ville, and whose mother married Elder Good- 
win of Clioctaw Corner. 

T. W. PRICE. 

A native of Virginia, born of parents who had been 
accustomed to wealth and its influences in that old 
state, T. W. Price has passed an eventful and an in- 
structive life. Born about 1808, accompanying his 
father, who had then lost his property and also his 
wife, on a horseback tour to Alabama, he came to 
Magoffin's Store in Clarke county in 1817, then some 
nine years of age. He remained with James Magoffin 
until 1829, during those twelve important years of 
3^outh. His father went on to Mobile and died there. 
An older brother who had accompanied them from 
Virginia, Henry Pkigk, went to the neigliborhood of 
Clarkesville. worked there for the largei- planters, mar- 
ried there, and there died. During the twelve years 
of residence at Magoffin's Stoi-e as clerk in various 
capacities, T. W. Price acquired habits of economy 
and industry, of obedience to authority, and of dili- 
gence in personal improvement. He saw many dis- 
tinguished men, formed some valuable acquaintances, 
and although attending school very little obtained the 
rudiments of an education. 

When twenty-one years of age, leaving his clerk- 
ship, he taught a school in the neighborhood for six 



SKETIIES OF OTIIKR PROMINENT CITIZENS. 499 

inoiitlis. boartliii*;' in the tainilv of David Pounu'. ( )f tlie 
home training of the ehihlren of that family and of tlieir 
characteristics he formed a high opinion. Chiklren of 
tlie Dickinson family and of otliei-s near Grove Hill 
were in this school among his pupils. Although not 
the earliest this must have been one of the early schools 
around what became (-rrove Hill. If not having at this 
time chosen the pi'ofession of a teacher, in order to be 
better fitted for his life work, he went to White Hall, 
in Marengo county, and attended the school taught by 
William (\ Dickinson. 

Remaining there about seven months he obtained a 
school some six miles from Linden, where he taught 
for two years j)leasantly and jirosperously. laying the 
foundations of education for many who became promi- 
nent citizens of Marengo. It was now lSo2, and hav- 
ing laid by some funds, entering a (juarter section of 
land, purchasing a native African man to commence 
upon this tract plantation life, and, forgetting for the 
time the Magoffin lessons of industry and economy, he 
bought a fine horse, went to Virginia, and spent the 
entire year of 1S32 in travelling and visiting. Return- 
ing to Marengo he taught at the same place for one 
more year and then in connection with Richard Dick- 
inson took charge of the new brick academy at Linden. 
His health requiring a'change of occupation, in 1834 he 
became a clerk, continued to improve his plantation, 
returned to Virginia in 1835 and was married, brought 
his wife and her servants to his Marengo farm, and 
commenced raising cotton. In 1836 he obtained for 
his first crop eighteen and three-fourtlis cents a pound 
and exjiected soon to be rich. The "Flush Times'' 
of Alabama had arrived. " The cotton crops were so 



500 CLARKE AND ITS SUKUOUNDINGS. 

abundant eveiyyear, that some (jf the fields were white 
in Marcli,*" and cotton unpicked was plowed under in 
order lo plant for another crop. Credit was almost un- 
limited. Commission merchants wei"e eager to make 
advances. Speculation was rife. Into the tem])ting 
and flattering vortex he was drawn ; the crash came ; 
his little bark went down as did thousands of others. 
Losing about twenty thousand dollars, and his planta- 
tion and servants' and his wife's servants being all 
swept away, the planter returned to the more secure 
and sure business of teaching. He now took charge, 
soon after 1S40, of tlie academy at Dayton, kept a 
boarding house and hotel, was associated with R. H. 
Kilpatrick who was afterwards at Grove Hill, and con- 
tinued to teach in and near Dayton till 1849. He then 
opened a new school in wiiat was called Creagh's 
neighborhood, finding in Alexander M. Creagli a reli- 
able and valued friend. He secured one assistant and 
taught here from the fall of 1849 till the summer of 
1851. The proceeds of these two years were moi'e 
than three thousand dollars. In the fall of 1851 he 
took charge of a new academy at Kehoboth, in Wilcox 
county, and continued teaching there till 1861. He 
had here a large and prosperous school, and laid out 
thousands of dollars in additional buildings, in appar- 
atus, musical instruments, and fixtures. The pressui'e 
of circumstances in 1861 required an abandonment of 
the school with all this dead property on his hands. 

Having in intervals from other labors been engaged 
in j-eading law, he had been admitted to the bar in 1859. 
and had obtained quite a practice in Marengo, Clarke. 
Wilcox, and Dallas counties. He was also admitted to 
practice in the Supreme Court. He carried on a pi'ofita- 



SKETCHES OE OTHKi: PROMINENT CITIZENS. 501 

ble law practice tVoiii iSftl till DecenilxT lst)5,an(i tlieii 
entered into a law partiiersliip with R. C. Jones ot 
Camden, which continued until January 1871. 

Politically having been in the olden time a inembei' of 
the Whig party, and opposed to secession and to tlie 
war which followed, T. W. Price, the teacher and law- 
yer, considered it right to act with the majority in that 
conflict. As a capable and honorable and trustworthy 
man he received the appointment for the counties of 
Clarke. \Vashington, Baldwin, Mobile, Conecuh, Wilcox, 
and Monroe, of claims commissioner in respect to cer- 
tain kinds of property taken oi- impressed for the use 
of the Confederate army. Tliis appointment lie ob- 
tained from the Confederate Congress in August, 18(i4. 
In discharging those duties he ascertained that at that 
time some varieties of property were held at the follow 
ing rates : 

Mules, each, from eight to twelve hundred dollars. 
Horses, each, from twelve hundred to twenty-live hun- 
di'ed. A wagon and team at twenty-nine hundred and 
forty dollars. Beef cattle, each, nine hundred and 
thirty dollars. 

From sixteen persons in Clarke county he found hail 
l)een taken property valued at more than seventeen 
hundred dollars. From thirty-seven persons in Monroe 
county property had been taken estimated at about sixty 
thousand dollars; and less or more in other counties. 
Of course these prices were established in view of the 
currency, which became entirely worthless before it 
reached the hands of the claimants. 

Coming into one of the fourteen classes of those 
excepted in the amnesty proclamation of President 
Jolmson of iVfav, l''^65/r. W. Price obtained from Wash- 



502 CLARKE AND ITS SIKKOINDIXOS. 

ington City in Septenibei' of that year a personal 
amnesty. 

In 1S66 he procured pardons tor twelve others. which 
required him to visit Montgomery tliree times and 
AVashington City and New York each once, and tor se- 
curing which he received in greenbacks about two thou- 
sand doUars as tees. While the war was going on he 
had persuaded his wife's sister to sell one at least of her 
colored families. One woman and six children were 
accordingly disposed of to Dr. M. W. Creagh for tive 
thousand and nine hundred dollars and the amount 
was, mostly, in less than one week invested in land at 
twenty -tive dollars an acre, thus securing to her a small 
amount of imperishable property. 

A new court liaving been established for Wilcox 
county in December of ISTl. T. W. Price was in Feb- 
ruary of 1ST2 elected judge of this court. In the 
political world were still rolling the waves of that 
stormy period, as called by politicians, of reconstruc- 
tion: and this judgeship led to unpleasant situations and 
to bitter experiences, in which once again the accumu- 
lations of years were swept away. The court itself 
was abt)lished in December 1S73. 

Judge Price still resides at Rehoboth. having re- 
tained, amid the loss of property, his probity and honor, 
and also many valuable friends. His daughters are en- 
gaged in teaching. Although not a church member, he 
believes firmly in the teachings and advocates strongly 
the precepts of the Bible; and is able to review a life 
of about thirty years, spent in teaching, as a life of true 
usefulness and honor. 

He who leaves an impress of his life and labors 
upon human minds leaves lines on tablets which are 
imperishable. 



SKKTCIIKS OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 503 
CAM.MA<'K. 

About tlu' year 1810 a small [»arty came to ]>as.sett's 
Creek from Kentucky, traxellin^- tlirou^-li tlie wilds Ijy 
compass. 

David Cam.mai k, who was born December 5, 1774, 
in Soutli Carolina, who went to Kentucky and there in 
180-4 was married to Miss Maky George, living near 
Princeton, was the leader of this party. With him 
came two men, his wife's brother, Basil George, and 
Z. Wyatt. His wife and tliree i-hildren also accom- 
panied him. The household goods of the family were 
"packed" on seventeen horse^ of which a colored boy 
had charge; and although shaping their course by a 
compass the little party had, for most of tlieir route, an 
Indian guide. They were on their journey about forty 
days. 

The two men, George and Wyatt, went back by 
themselves to Kentucky. 

The Cammack family settled near Bassett's Creek 
between the present towns of Grove Hill and Suggs- 
ville, where they found then living Caleb Moncrief and 
others, in all about fifty families. 

Five hundred Choctaw Indians camped for five 
weeks in sight of their cabin. They were well be- 
haved, drank no whisky, did not attempt to steal or 
plunder. Their chief was the noted Pushmataha. 

The next year, 1811, David Cammack went back to 
Kentucky and brought to his new plantation one hun- 
dred and twent}'' hogs. He bought cows of the Indians, 
paying about fifteen dollars for each cow. He raised 
wheat, according to Kentucky custom. Sugar and 
cotlee were "packed " from Pensacola. 

Indian troubles soon commenced. Sixteen out ot 



504 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

the seventeen pack horses of tlie plantation were taken 
bj the Creek Indians. One day fifteen Indians came to 
the house. Mrs. Cammack was alarmed and went to 
a neighbor's residence. This family with many others 
soon took refuge in Fort Madison. There the}^ shared 
the common experiences. Mrs. Cammack very much 
disliked some of the practices of some of the white 
people in the fort. She did not think their behavior 
was equal in all respects to Pushmataha's Choctaws. 
After the dangers were over they returned to planta- 
tion life. 

The following is from authentic family records: 
David Cammack, born in South Carolina, Decem- 
ber 5, 1774. Mary George, born April 5, 1789. Mar- 
ried in Kentucky in 1804. The husband was then 
about thirty years of age ; the wife was about fifteen. 

CHILDREN. 

Sarah, born Oct. 1, 1805. John C. born May 9, 1807. 
Margaret, May 5, 1809. Andrew, Nov. 13, 1811. Mary 
Ann, Dec. 23, 1814. Matilda, Aug. 1, 1816. Julia Ann, 
Nov. 12, 1818. David G., Sep. 20, 1820. Thomas B., 
Oct. 1822. Samuel E., Aug. 31, 1824. Walter G., Oct. 
16, 1826. Alexander, Aug. 27, 1828. Caroline, June 
20, 1830. 

The student of curious things may notice that in 
this remarkable family record there is first a girl then 
a boy, again a girl and then a boy. then three girls in 
succession and then five boys, and then, at last as at 
first, a girl, making seven sons and six daughters as 
the division into classes of thirteen children, a division 
as nearly equal as for that nun)berwas possible. Again 
the curious observer mav notice that the first four 



SKETCHES OF OTIIEIl PHCOIINEXT CITIZENS. 505 

children were born on odd years, but regularly every 
other year, in the years ending with 5, 7, 9, and II. 
Jjut the year 1813, the next odd year, was a year of 
dangers, of alarms, of Indian war, of fort life. 

Peace and home life returned, and the next birth 
years are those ending in 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24,-26, 28, 
30. What could be moi-e regular? Of these thirteen,, 
tire sons are living, and four daughters. 

Samuel E. Cammack died Sept. 22, 1846. 

Andrew Cam>[x\.(;k also has died. 

David Cammack, the father, died in 1850. 

According to his positive direction that his remains^ 
should not be buried, the body was placed in a zinc 
case and deposited on the surface of the earth in the 
garden. Some light enclosure was placed over it. And 
there, in 1874, the unburied remains were reposing in 
the sunlight, amid the tlowers and shrubbery, the hum 
of bees, and the activities of life. 

Mrs. Mary Cammack, the mother, born in South 
Carolina, finding a home in Kentucky when eight 
years of age. the mother of thirteen children, was 
then, in 1874, in August, residing in the old home, 
close by the little garden, eighty-five years of age, 
active, intelligent, recounting cheerfully and with a 
I'eady recollection, the events of their early life. She 
was evidently a more than ordinary woman in physi- 
cal and mental (pialities. 

Before that year had ended she too had passed 
away, to sleep with the uncounted generations that 
have gone before. 

Joiix C. Cammack, the oldest of the seven brothers, 
was throe years old when his parents removed from 
Kentuckv. All his Ijrothers were born in Clarke. He 



506 CLAKKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

was too young to remember the journey through the 
wilderness. The stirring events of 1813 would be 
likely to make some strong impressions which would 
not be forgotten. 

He is now seventy years of age. He owns a mill 
not far from the old Fort Sinquefield and between that 
and Grove Hill, where he has resided for many years. 
He has had a large family. He is a man of intelligence 
and a good citizen. 

David Gr. Cammack married Miss Mary Ann Bettis. 
He now resides at the Bettis place, between Fort Sin- 
quefield and Bassett's Creek, just north of the Creigh- 
ton place. He has had five sons, of whom four are 
now living, and three daughters. Miss "Dollie," now 
a young lady in her father's home, industrious, intelli- • 
gent, and discreet, is the only daughter living. On 
this plantation, and not very far from the old home 
where for so many years the Bettis family resided, is 
one of the favorable localities for studying the geologic 
formation of central Clarke. It is in the bed of a small 
stream which has been washing and wearing into the 
earth for but a few years past. The upper layer of 
sand and soil, the layer of pebbles, the soft limestone 
underlying and the imbedded shells, can all be exam- 
ined in the entire freshness of a recent and a rapid 
natural cutting into the earth. 

Present action here is at a rate of progress far more 
rapid than geologists generally acknowledge. 

Walter Gr. Cammack married Miss Sarah Hill, a 
daughter of Travis Hill. 

General Sa^nlukl Dale, the Daniel Boone of Ala- 
bama, as he is called by Judge Meek, was for a time a 
citizen of Clarke county. He was born in Virginia in 



SKIOTCIIES OF OTIIEM PUOMINENT dTIZHNS. 507 

1772. and was of Irish descent. In 178-1: liis father's 
family removed to Georgia and occupied a farm near 
the Creek Indians. 

In a few years his fatlier and mother died and left 
to him the care of seven younger children. He became 
a soldier and had niany contiicts with the Indians. He 
then became a trader among the Cherokees and Creeks. 
He also acted as a guide to pioneer parties who were 
seeking the Tombigbee settlements. He at length re- 
moved into Clarke county himself. He was now mar- 
ried and probably foi-ty yeai-s of age. He was at the 
house of Colonel Joseph Phillips, at Jackson, in July 
1813, when James Cornells arrived there on his fleet 
gray horse anouncing that hostile Indians had burnt his 
house and corn cribs on that creek, which perhaps from 
this event took the name of Burnt Corn. At that time 
a captain, he accompanied Colonel Caller in the Burnt 
Corn expedition, led that expedition in which took 
place the canoe fight, and was in other engagements of 
this Creek war. Many incidents have been I'ecorded 
by Meek and Pickett and Claiborne illustrating his 
courage, strength, and daring. 

In 1816 he was a member of the convention to 
divide Mississippi tei'i'itory. In 1817 he was a member 
of the Alabama Territorud Assembly and received from 
Governor Bibb a commission as colonel. His residence 
and citizenship were now in Monroe county, organized 
in 1815 and extending, it may be remembered, for some 
years, as far west as Suggsville. 

Colonel Dale represented Monroe county in 181!> 
with James Dellet, in 1820 with John Murphy, in 1821 
with Arthur P. Bagby, in 1823 with John Gayle, in 
1824 with Arthur P. Bagby, in 1826, in 1828 with Enoch 



508 olakkp: and its surroundings. 

PtirsoiK ill Ls29 with John Murrissett, all of these men 
of note in their clay. The Alabama Legislature con- 
ferred on him the rank of brigadier general. About 
the year 1S31 he removed to Mississippi and represent- 
ed Lauderdale county in 1S36. He had been in 1821 
one of the four commissioners to hjcate roads from Tus- 
kaloosa to Pensacola and from Pensacola to Blakely 
and to Claiborne. In 1824 he had been one of the 
committee to meet and to escort General La Fayette to 
the capital of Alabama. 

In 1830 he had been one of two commissoners ap- 
pointed by the Secretary of War to remove the Choc- 
taws. He said, according to J. F. H. Claiborne, " Life 
and Time of Gen. Samuel Dale,"' "I found the great 
body of the Choctaws very sad; making no arrange- 
ments until the last moment, to remove; clinging around 
their humble cabins, and returning again and again to 
the resting place of their dead. Even the sternest war- 
riors, trained to suppress every emotion, appeared un- 
manned, and, when we camped at night, many of them 
stole back, in the darkness, twenty, thirtj^and even forty 
miles, to take a last fond look at the graves of their 
household, soon to be trampled upon by a more enter- 
prising and less sentimental race. Some, who had not 
yet buried their dead — for it is the custom of the CHioc- 
taws to expose the dead on scaffolds for a certain time, 
during which they spend many hours every da}' weep- 
ing round the remains — absolutely refused to go until 
the allotted time for these ceremonies had expi)"ed. 
We left them in their country and they afterward 
removed.-' 

ISTo more suitable man probablj^ could have been 
found for this service. In common with the better class 



S KETCH KS OF OTHER PHOMINENT CITIZENS. 509 

of border men ''he entertained a strong attachment for 
tlie Indians,extolled their courage, their h)ve of country, 
their patience, their tenderness to tlieir cliihh-en. and 
their reverence for the dead." 

General Dale died in Mississippi, at J)aleville. in 
May 1S41. According to ( Maiborne the following is the 
substance of his closing W(U'ds to him. whom he had 
chosen as his biographer: 

" I am now a ^lonely man, jiatiently waiting the roll- 
call of the Great Chief above. Much of my life, as you 
have heard, has been passed in solitude, on paths beset 
with danger, or in deadly strife. I ha\e been, from 
necessity, self-reliant and fearless; but, since the night 
of my father's death, when so many orphans were left 
in my charge, my trust has been in God, and the greater 
the peril the firmer my fiiith. It has comforted me in 
sorrow. It has sustained me, when cold and wearied, 
on my midnight scout. It has nerved my arm when 
striking for my country; and now, sir, it lights up the 
gloom of the grave, and shines brighter and brighter 
in the depths of eternity. Pnt your trust in Him.*' 

H(jw cheering and refreshing are such words from 
the lips of such men, in contrast with the atheistic, or 
iniidel, hopeless declarations and surmisings of a few 
])ublic men.wdio are now in the ^N^oi'th, making a parade 
of their utter unbelief The public and leading men of 
the South, as a general rule, respect the Christian faith, 
(k'ueral Dale closed with honor an active and eventful 
life. Men exposed to hourly danger liave need to 
trust in God. 

VI. [NDIAN LKADKKS. 

The most celebrated war chief of the Choctaws was 
PrsiiMATAUA. He also like Dale was six feet and two 



510 OLAKKE AND ITS srKUOUXniXGS. 

im'hes l\i>ih. verv strong aiul robust. Gen. Dale. w1k> 
•had heard Weatlierford, Tecutnseh, and the Propliet, 
also the Big Warrior, a Creek chief, and Piixenubbee. 
and tlie distinguished lU-ators in Congress, Chiy.Callioun, 
Benton, AVebster, and otliers, said he never heard "one 
who had such music in his tones, sucli energy in his 
manner, and such pi.>\ver over Ins audience, as this 
renowned warrior." •• l*ushmataha acknowledged no 
paternity. ' ' " Brewer says : 

*• Cf all the Indians of pure blood who have a place 
in American history, he blended more admirable traits 
in his character than any other. He was intelligent, 
I affable, sagacious, brave, eloquent, witty, and compara- 
tively temperate, and, like Logan, he was truly the 
friend of the wdiite man." 

When he heard of the P\)rt Minis" massacre he rode 
to St. Stephens and proposed to George S. Gaines to aid 
with his warriors the American cause. The Creek 
Indians were encouraged in their bloody work by the 
Spaniards and the English. 

Pushmataha's offer was finally accepted by General 
Flournoy at Mobile, and he lerl some Choctaw warriors 
in the battle of Econachaca or the Holy (Ground. He 
died in the city of AVashington. In his illness he was 
visited by General Jackson, and was buried with 
military honors in the Congi-essional cemetery. The 
following words are inscribed upon the tal>let on his 
monument: 

•• Pushmatahaw, a Choctaw chief, lies here. This 
monument is erected by his brother chiefs, who were 
associated with him in a delegation from their nation, 
in the year 1S24, to the general assembly of the I nited 
States. He died in Washington, Dec. 24. 1S24, of the 



SKKTCIIES OF OTIIEIi I'RO.MIXKXT CniZKXS. 511 

fi-oup, in tlie 60tli year of his age. Pushinatahaw was 
a warrior of great distinction. He was wise in council, 
eloquent in an extraordinary degree, and, on all occa- 
sions, and under all cii'cuinstances, the white man's 
friend." 

As the Choctaw portion of Clarke and of this region 
was a i>art of the inherited territory of this distinguished 
chief, and as he was so eiinnentlv the friend of the set 
tiers along the Tombighee, it is fitting that in this vol- 
ume some memorial should be found of the friendly 
and eloquent 

ITSUMATAUAW. 

And foi- quite a diiferent reason some notice may alsr* 
be heie inserted of 

WI I.I.I AM AVKATlIKIiFORI). 

This noted Indian leader was largely in blood of the 
white race. The descent of several Alabama families 
of mixed race is traced back by the Alabama autliori- 
ties to an Indian Muscogee princess of tlie tribe of the 
Wind, who lived earl}^ in the eighteenth centurj'. Her 
name was Sehoy, and she has been already menticmed 
in this narrative, but perhaps a more complete state- 
ment of hei' lines of descent is desirable. 

x\bout the year 1715 Captain Marchand, the French 
'•<jmmander at Fort Toulouse on the Coosa and Talla- 
jtoosal took as a wife this princess, Sehoy. They had 
a daughter, Sehoy Marchand, who first married aTuck- 
abatchee chief, (and had a daughto- who also was 
named Sehoy, j and whc; afterwai'd married, in 1740, 
then probably twenty-four years of age, Lochlan Mc- 
(■rillivray, a Scotch adventurer and ti-ader. They had 
three cliildren, the noted Alexander McGillivray, who 



.512 CLARKE AIs'^D ITS SURE0LTNDIN(4S. 

became a great chief, and two daughters. One of these 
daughters married a French officer, LeClere Milfort, 
who resided in the Indian nation twenty years as a war 
chief, and then returned to Paris, liis wife liaving died, 
and became a brigade general under Napoleon. The 
other McGillivray daughter married Benjamin Durant, 
a Huguenot trader from South Carolina. Mrs. Durant 
was considered a verj^ gifted woiuan, and had several 
children. Among these were Lochlan Durant and a 
daughter who married Captain Dixon Bailey, a half 
Indian, whose brothers were James and Daniel Bailey, 
and who endeavored so bravely to defend Fort Mims. 
Sehoy the third, mentioned above, had married in 1778 
Colonel Tait, a British officer at that same Fort Tou- 
louse. David Tait and perhaps other children were 
her descendants. She afterwards, left as a widow by 
Colonel Tait, married Charles Weatherford, a Scotch 
trader of great enterprise, who came from Georgia, who 
became wealthy and influential, and who establislied 
himself on the bank of the Alabama, ke])t fast horses, 
built a store and constructed a race-track, and was the 
father of "William Weatherford, the fierce Indian lead- 
er. Families thus originated, some by other marriages 
with daughters mentioned above, bearing tiie names of 
McGillivray, Tait, Cornells, Bailey, Monice, Weather- 
ford, Durant, Tunstall, who were wealthy and influen- 
tial, and in whose veins was mingled Indian, French, 
British, and American blood. 

Others of mixed blood, as the families of Peter Mc- 
Queen, Smith, and the Fishers and McGirth, seem not 
to have been connected with the line of the princess 
Sehoy. 

Weatherford himself had several sisters, among them 



SKKTCITES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS, 518 

Ilaiiiiali McNae. wlio witli all lier sons joined the war 
part^' while her husband tied for jH'otection to the 
Americans. 

AVii.LiAM WKATnEKFDiii), known as the Red Eagle, 
was born at his father's home on the Alabama about 
1782. With all his white blood he cared little for edu- 
cation, refusing to learn to read or write, yet he ac- 
tjuired a good knowledge of the English language. In 
those acquirements which would fit him to be an Indian 
chief he became an accomplishe<l savage. Wheii he 
reached manhood as the possessor of wealth and tal- 
ents, of a commanding presence, and of a high position, 
he naturally acquired great influence. Claiborne calls 
liim "the key and corner-stone of tlie Creek Confede- 
rac3\" Three independent authorities concerning him 
are Claiborne, Meek, and Pickett ; and in their esti- 
mate of the man and of his qualities some differences 
appear. 

Claiborne writes, "Fortune bestowed on Weather- 
ford genius, eloquence, and courage." 

"His judgment and eloquence had secured the re- 
spect of the old ; his vices made him the idol of the 
young and the unprincipled." 

•'With avarice, treachery, and a thirst for blood, 
he combines lust, gluttony, and a devotion to every 
species of criminal carousal.''' 

'"In his person he is tall, straight, and well })ro- 
portioned ; his eye black, lively, penetrating, and in- 
dicative of courage and enterprise ; his nose promi- 
nent, thin and elegant in its formation ; while all the 
features of his face harmoniously arranged, speak an 
active and disciplined mind." 

Meek calls him "one of the most remarkable men, 
38 



514 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

wlietlier sav^age or civilized, which the American hemi- 
sphere has produced." He says, that '' his career was 
mai'ked by a romantic interest little inferior to the inci- 
dents of wildest fiction, and his character partook of a 
spirit of rude chivalry, as singular and fascinating, as 
the circumstances, andd which it was developed, were 
unpropiticMis and repulsive. We know no finer instance 
in Indian history, of genius, heroism, and eloquence 
united." 

He grants, however, that his cliaracter was n)arked 
by other and opposite qualities, "by cruelty, supersti- 
tion, and the common vices of his time and people.'' 

Pickett says, that he "was a man of great native 
intellect, fine form, and commanding person. His bear- 
ing was gentlemanly and dignified, and was coupled 
with an intelligent expression, which led strangers to 
suppose that they were in the presence of no ordinary 
man. His eyes were large, dark, brilliant and flashing. 
He was (nie of 'nature's noblemen,' a man of strict 
honor and unsurpassed courage." 

It has been already stated that Weatherford led the 
attack upon Fort Minis, and that he took to his liome, 
from that terrible massacre. Miss Lucy (^ornells, the 
younger daughter of Joseph Cornells, an unusually 
spirited and beautiful girl." She had an older sister, 
Anna, who had married a son of the Big A\'arrior. She 
had three brothers, George, Alexander, and James. 

*.I(iseph Cornells, it seems, was a white man wlu> regiiled amont;- the Indians as 
an interpreter, an:l who had married an Indian woman. On tlie authority of Brewer 
tlie Cornells familj' has heen placed amonj: the "Sehoy"' connections, hntuoe\i- 
deiice has heen found that Mrs. Cornells was in that line. She may have t)een a 
Dnrant. The Cornells family was wealthy. In Pickett's History of Alabama, pa^e 
142, in the letter to the father of Alexander McGillivray, William Panton, the 
Pensacola merchant, says, that one of Alexander McGilli\ ray's wi\ es was Joseph 
Cornell's daujjhter. To harmonize all these statements is ditticnlt. 



SKETCHES OP^ OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 515 

Alexander became a chief and was the father of Opothele 
Vohohx a distinguished chief. 

Weatherford had heard that General Jackstm had 
said ot those concerned in the massacre, "Long shall 
they remember Fort Mims in bitterness and tears," and 
lie engaged in conflict with, all the fierceness and energy 
of his nature. 

The various engagements, among them those of 
Talladega, of Hillabee, of the Holy Ground, and of 
Tohopeka or the Horse Shoe, in all of wdiich, called 
Weatherford's ''Thirty Battles," some four thousand 
warriors perished, and in one of which occurred Weath- 
erford's famous plunge on his swift and stout "grey 
steed ■■ from a bluff ten or fifteen feet in height into the 
Alabama river,— these all belong to the general history 
of the country. 

The battle of the Horse Shoe had destroyed all 
further hopes of the Creek Nation. A treaty was made 
on the site of the old Fort Toulouse, now called Foi-t 
Jackson, in August 1814, just one hundred years after 
the French flrst established the old fort ; and here, on 
this historic ground, Weatherford boldly riding to the 
tent of tlie commanding officer, some say, on the same 
splendid gray horse that had borne him in safety from 
the defeat at Holy Gi-ound, surrendered himself to 
General Jackson. His life was spared, but for some 
time it was difficult for the military authorities to pro- 
tect him from the personal vengeance of those who had 
lost kindred at Fort Minis. He was with General Jackson 
for a year at the Hermitage, he then returned to Mon- 
roe county, collected the remains of his former wealth, 
located with his family in a live-oak grove on Little 
River, and there in a civilized home, became a peace- 



51H CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

fill farmer. His character seemed to change. Those 
who became actjuainted with liim then say of him, "liis 
bearing was marked by nobleness of purpose, and his 
conduct was always honorable.'" "Ever frank and 
guileless, no one had the more entire confidence (»f 
those among whom he lived.'' One who knew him 
intimately says, " Weatherford possessed naturally one 
of the finest minds our country has produced." He 
died at his home March 9, 1824, being less than forty- 
four years of age. 

Pushmataha, it will be remembered, died in Decem- 
ber, 1S24, and the Big Warrior, the noted friendly 
Creek chief of pure blood, also died at Washington, in 
1825. 

Thus near together, as to time, passed these three 
noted men from the scenes of earthly life. And with 
all the civilization around them no evidences appears 
that any one of them knew much of the better hopes 
of the hereafter. 

Opothele Yoholo, the son of Alexander Cornells, 
this Alexander being called by Brewer Weatherford's 
brother-in-law, becoming an infiuential chief, removing 
with his people west of the Mississippi has been always 
a friend to the whites. In 1861 he took the side of the 
North. 

Charles Weatherforu, a son of the noted chieftain, 
is now living near the mouth of Little River. He was 
born about 1800. He has a son residing in the same 
locality, also Charles Weatherford, who thinks CLii- 
borne's estimate of his grandfather, as to his being a 
glutton and a drunkard, is. incorrect. That he was not 
in his later life is evident. Perhaps he never was. 
But on the page of history' remains Fort Mims. 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 517 



VII. WKST HEN1>. 

It is ditticult even now to ascertain fully in regard 
to the earliest settlement of this portion of the county. 
It takes its name from the large bend toward the west 
made here by the Tombigbee river. Boats can be 
heard for hours before they reach the western limit of 
the river in township ten. There are short turns and 
windings almost constant in this river which the map 
of course does not show. 

In 1809 Abner Turner and his family came from 
near St. Stephens and settled in township 10, range 2 
east. Other families followed. 

THOKNTO.N. 

Among the citi/ens of West Bend the two Thornton 
families have been for many years active, iniiuential, 
and useful. Descended from an old Virginia family, 
evidently of English origin, Abraham Thornton of 
Edgefield District, South Carolina, married Elizabeth 
Holliday. He died near the close of the Revolution- 
ary War, and left ten sons and three daughters. All 
the sons except one bore the names of ancient patriarchs 
and apostles. The one exception was 

William L. Tiiorxtox, who married about 1803, 
Mrs. Nancy Stringer, a daughter of John Slater and 
his wife who was Susannah Gardner. He removed to 
West Bend, then in Washington county, in 1800, with 
three step children, William, George, and Martha, 
Stringer ; and two young sons, John W. and Eli S. 
Thornton. 

George Stringer was killed by the Indians 'about 
1814. William Stringer removed to. Mississippi, 



olS Or.AKKE AND ITS SUKKOrNDTNGS. 

wliere he diod several years ago. ^[iss Mariiia 
Stkinoek, born in Xoveniber, 1799, now Mrs. Pack. 
whose husband, Stephen Pace, died in lS3t>, known as 
Aunt Patsy, is still living at TTest Bend, very intelli- 
a:ent and active, strons' in mind and bodv. her liearinjr 
apparently as gt»od as many persons enjoy at sixty. ^'^ 
AY. L. Thornton was an excellent citizen, one of the 
constituent members of the Ulconush church. He 
died in 184S. being seventy-tive years of age. His 
wife died in 1S50. at the age of seventy-seven. 

John ay. Thorxtox, who came as a young boy into 
Alabama territory, married Miss Sarah linker, had 
two sons. AYiLLiAM F. TuoKXTox, who lives at home 
and is an active member of the AYest Bend church. 
JosEPHus Thokxtox, who died in the time of the war, 
and a daughter, Hkxrietta. who died in girlhood. 
He is still living with his wife in the West Bend neigh- 
borhood. He is of course quite advanced in years 
and is rather feeble. He has been a member, first of 
Ulconush and then of the TYest Bend Baptist cliurclu 
for many years. 

Hon. Ei.i S. Thokxtox. who was born in South 
Carolina, but whose earliest recollections are con- 
nected with the Tombigbee river scenery, has been 
thoroughly identified with the whole life and growth of 
Clarke county. Passing in boyhood through the In- 
dian troubles, he saw rhe commencenient of county, 
territorial, and state life. AYith the leading men of 
St. Stephens and the old AYashington county he w^is 
well acquainted. 

He was married January S. 1S5:? to Mrs. Mar»xA.ket 
Eakle Turxer. who was a daughter of Gross Scruggs. 

* Thi!; st.Hteineui is still svxkI in 1882. 



SKKTCIIKS OF ()l\\K]l IMJOMIMNT < ITIZKNS. 519 

Ilcr niotlier. y\\<. Scruggs, was Miss Marv Earle 1^1111- 
(lav. Ml-. 'I'linier at the time of tliis marriage liad a 
<laiiglitei", .JosKi'iii.vK, and two sons. Ji:ssk A. and 
(tK(..s> TrK.vKR. Tiie daughter, wlio iiad fine physical 
and mental endowments, married Dr. S. V. Wkjju. 
'I'liey still reside in the same neighborh^tod and have a 
growing family. Mi'S. WebVj, like her mother, is a 
superior woman. Tlie\' are also members of the West 
Bend church. 

.Ikssk a. Tcknkk is unmarried. JJe i-esides at one 
of the old Turm.'r places, near the locality of Turner's 
Fort. 

(ti:i)ss Tlkxkk lives at Mt. Sterling. 

Mrs. Mak<;akk'i E. Tn<>i;.\T(»\. who w.is a very esti- 
mable woman, of tine social and intellectual qualities 
and of fervent piety, died November 18, 1858. 

Fler sons were Wiij.iam James Tiiorntox and Lka.n- 

DKK EaRT-E TiIOR.VTO.V. 

E. S. Thornton about 1861 w^as married to Miss 
Sai,i,(e J. Pace, a very fair and lovely young lady, 
(laughter of Alfred K. and grand-daughter ol' Dempsey 
Pace. They have three daughters. Miss Mary E., 
Annie, and Willie : and two young sons, Robert and 
.loseph. The West Bend home where these now re- 
side, a group of interesting and ])leasant children, is a 
home of abundant comforts where friends will find a 
glad welcome. Mrs. Tln^rnton has beconje a mature, 
noble-hearted woman, and her oldest daughter, Miss 
Mary E. is now a charming young girl. Along the 
avenue in front of this hospitable mansion are beauti- 
ful live oaks ; fig trees, peach trees, long arbors of 
-cuppernongs, and other varieties of fruit bearers oc- 
'Mipy their appropriate places, yielding their fruits in 



520 CLAHKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

their seasons ; the crape myrtle, cape jessamine, and 
other riowering plants furnish their beauty and their 
fragrance ; and tlie tiowing s[)rings in the near vale 
invite to their refreshing waters. The open pine 
growth near extends out to the high table lands of the 
c<nintv : and the dense river growth, also near, leads 
down to the bottom lands and to the steam-boat land- 
ing. In the long autumn can be found thei'efore, not 
far away, the persimmon trees and the muscadine vines 
and the luscious fruits of each. 

The first offices held by E. S. Thornton were those 
of county surveyor and deputy United States surveyor. 
While proceeding to Xashville in 1833. on business 
connected with the latter office, lie was for a time the 
guest of General Coftee at his home near Florence. 
In 1832 he had been retracing lines in Sumter county, 
and in 181:2 he was engaged in the same work in 
(xreene. For the most part, he has given his attention 
to the care of a large river plantation, in the' mean 
time attending to public and official duties. Among 
these may be named the guardianship of James M. 
Scruggs, closed in 1847 ; of Gross Scruggs and Jesse 
Scruggs, closed in 1850 ; and representing the county 
in the state legislature in 1853 and 1854. In 1876 ha 
was elected state senator for four years. Senator 
Thornton is verv mild, refined in feelinoj, and o-enial in 
Social life: he is an earnest, intelligent Christian, 
active in his church and in the Bethel Association ; 
and his attractive and pleasant home is well supplied 
with comforts for phj'sical and the appliances for intel- 
lectual life. Few men so truly excellent can be found 
in any community. 

W. James Tuorxtox was born at West Bend in 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 521 

1.S52. He received a good home education, and became 
11 student at the University of Alabama, where he gradu- 
ated in 1872. He was afterwards a member of the 
University of Georgia at Athens, and graduated tliere 
in ls73. He taught at the West Bend Academy for 
tliree yeai's. from 1873 until 1876. He was a delegate 
from Clarke to the state convention for nominating 
state officers in 1874. In October, 1876, he was married 
to Miss Mamie Hudson, a daughter of Colonel R. H. 
Hudson of Hoboken. 

In JS^ovembcr, 1876, he commenced business at Ho- 
boken, as a merchant. He is a Baptist church member, 
a talented and promising young citizen, of good habits 
and strong principles, one of that class which the 
country needs. Enterprising young men of (Jhristian 
principle will build up society in the right direction. 

L. Eaklk Thornton, receiving his early education 
at the West Bend Academy, has just graduated. 1><77. 
at the University of Alabama. He is thinking of study- 
ing law. He is a member of the West Bend Baptist 
clinrch, and a young man of principle and of jjrornise. 
Active life is yet before him. - 

SLATER. 

Joiix D. Sr.ATER and Gkoroe Slater, brothers of 
Mrs. WuK L. Thornton, sons of John Slater of South 
Carolina, settled in AVashington county about 1808 and 
a year or two afterward removed to the West Bend 
neighborhood east of the river. They were '*men of 
most exemplary moi-al character.'' The latter, who was 
never married, died near Mobile about 1835; the former 

*ncatli unexpt'ctedly came in July, 1880. See a ri'conl iintlcr tin- lu-ad of 
■"Oleaningt*." Pajie to bt learned from the index. 



522 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

married Miss Sarah Bowman, daughter of Robert Bow- 
man of South Carolina. He had one son, James (t. 
Slater, well known in Washington and Choctaw coun- 
ties as a universally kind and hospitable citizen. lie 
died about 18Y4. He left two sons, James A. Slater 
and George G. Slater, and some daughters. 

DEE.se or T)EAS. 

George Deas and RoDERroK Deas were brothers. 
They wei'e here in 1813. 

George Deas lived in the valley of Bassett's Creek, 
about a mile from Fort Sin(|ueiield, in 1820. He had 
three sons, William, Lemuel, and James. His daugh- 
ters were Mary Ann, who married A. Pace, Martha, 
who went to Texas, Sarah, who died, Rebecca, and 
Eliza, now Mrs.W. Scruggs. 

William Deas settled in West Bend. lie had a 
number ot sons and daughters, some of whom are still 
living not far from CoiFeeville. 

Although one of the older families of the county, 
but few records of tlie various members have been 
gleaned. In the county the name is more generally 
written Deese, but Deas is from good authority. 

I'ACE. 

JouN Pace from South Carolina, after spending 
about a year in Kentucky and another year in Tennes- 
see, coming then with Dempsey Pace, with a Parker 
famil}' and some others, through the Chickasaw Indians, 
settled in 1809 about a mile and a half above Coffee- 
ville. This party came with between sixty and seventy 
pack horses, flohn Pace liad eleven sons and three 
daughters. One daughter married Colonel Small of 



SKETCHES OF OTHEIJ PROMINENT CITIZENS. 523 

Tennessee. Eight of the sons had families. Seven of 
these were. Stephen, James, Dempsey, William, Thomas, 
Kiehmond, and Jesse. 

John Pace died in 1820. Richmond Pace and Jesse 
Pace are now living in Mississippi. William Pace is 
living in Arkansas. This large family left Clarke in 
1821. 

Dkmi'sey Pace, named above, a brother, probably, 
of John Pace, and a son of Frederick Pace of South 
Carolina, came in 1899. He died in 1875 being nearly 
ninety years of age. lie had a number of sons, among 
them Thomas, William, John, Alfred R., Gillum ; 
(ieorge and A. J. twins, Joseph, Burrall, and Nathan. 
The Pace family was quite. large. Some of the sons 
were in the Creek and Seminole war of 1836, and nearly 
all the members of the family, of suitable age, were 
'Mn the war between the States.'' 

Thomas Pace had three sons and two daughters. 
One son, William Pace, is living at West Bend. The 
younger daughter. Miss Henrietta, married Dr. B. M. 
Allen, of North Carolina, who gi-adnated at Lexington. 
Kentucky, in 1857, and settled in Clarke in 1859. They 
live upon the Mountain and have five daughters. 
The elder daughter. Miss Sophia, married T. J. Cowan. 
She died in a few years, leaving a promising daughter 
and two sons. A. J. Pace, living near West Bend, is 
now a county commissioner. 

John Pace and Burrall Pace are both still living, 
one of them near Ulconush church. He has a very 
nice bathing pool. 

SCRUGGS. 

Gross ScRU(i(rS who had married Miss Mary Earle 
J^unday, came toW^est Bend from Georgia, about 1820. 



.3*24 CLARKE A^D ITS SUKK0^^'D1^'GS. 

They were highly respected, aud worthy, and useful 
members of the community. They died between 1S36 
and 1S40, leaving three sons and one daughter. The 
latter has been mentioned as Mrs. Thornton. The 
sons became very useful and estimable citizens. In 
1860 the three were living not tar apart, having very 
pleasant families and homes.- 

Jesse ScRUGcrS renn^ved to Texas, where he and his 
wife still reside. 

Gkoss Sckuogs died in the Confederate arTuy. Will- 
iam L. ScRi'irtis is living near Colfeeville. He married 
Miss Deas. Pie has three daughters and one son. 
This exceedingly pleasant family tind room for their 
religious activities in the Sabbath school and church at 
Ulconush. This is another of these sunny homes of 
peace, plenty, and prosperity. 

TURXEK. 

The above is one of the familiar aud honored names 
in Washington, Choctaw, and Clarke. Abner Turner 
with his wife, who was Miss Chaste E. Love, came 
from Georgia to Washington county, near St. Stephens, 
about 1807. In 1809 he removed to West Bend. He 
was "one of the best and most substantial citizens'- of 
that time. He owned quite an amount of property. 
In this household there grew up six sons and six daugh- 
ters. Among the sons were the Hon. Beloved L. Tur- 
ner and Col. A. J. Turner of Choctaw county.^ One 
of the daughters married James G. Slater, a second 
married Josiah 2soble, and a third married Captain 
William Lang. Master of the State Grange of Texas. 
Robert Turner and Miss Bay Turner have never mar- 

* 1S79. Thesf have both died within the last two veurs. 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 525 

ried. They are still living near West Bend, A. Tur- 
ner died several years ago. Mrs. Turner died in 1873, 
at the advanced age of eighty-six years. 

RoBERTis LovK, wlio v^as a brother of Mrs. Turner, / 
came to West Bend about 1809. He was "a highly \/ 
respected citizen,'' had a large family of children, but 
removed to Marengo county many years ago. 

Jonx Irby was another excellent citizen of the West 
Bend neighborhood. He had three sons and several 
daughters. This family also removed to Marengo 
many years ago. Charles Ihby, the oldest son, was a 
leading and popular commission merchant in Mobile 
from about 1825 until his death. One of his daughters 
married Drury R. Malone, who was also a prominent 
commission merchant in the same city. 

Still another early resident in this same neighbor- 
hood was John White, who came from JSTorth Carolina 
before 1812. He had a lai'ge familj^ of sons and daugh- 
ters. Descendants of these, characterized by industry 
and energy, are still residing in Clarke and in the east- 
ern part of Mississippi, three of the latter being promi- 
nent Baptist ministers. 

The name of Tandy Walker is historic. He also 
was a resident at West Bend. At one time he was 
"Government blacksmith " at St. Stephens. He was 
in Fort Madison in 1813. He was " a most experienced 
and daring backwoodsman." In company- with George 
Foster, who was an expert hunter, and a mulatto man, 
named Evans, he penetrated the country east of the 
Alabama to Burnt Corn Creek, after the battle of Burnt 
Corn. In this expedition Evans was killed. Foster, 
supposing Walker also killed, retreated from the In- 
dians, swam the Alabama, and reached Fort Madison. 



526 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

But Walker, altliongli badly wounded, escaped from 
the tomahawks of the Indians, and with the use of one 
arm made a raft of canes, crossed the river, and after a 
night and a day of exposure, faint and woi-n, he also 
reached the fort. He had been before this time, in 
1812, sent by George S. Gaines from St. Stephens to 
ransom Mrs. Crawley, who had been taken prisoner in 
Tennessee by the party of Little Warrior, on their 
return from a visit to Tecumseh, and had been con- 
veyed by them to an "old village at the falls of the 
Black Warrior. Tandy Walker proceeded to this vil- 
lage, ransomed hei', took her down to St. Stephens, 
and she was at length restored to her home. 

Tradition states that Tandy Walker came from 
Noi-th Carolina in 1801, in that land and water expedi- 
tion which has been mentioned, along with John Mur- 
rell, William Murrell, Thomas Malone, Robert Caller, 
and others. He had a daughter named Millie, who 
was married to Edward Easley. 

Tandy Walker removed to Texas where he was liv- 
ing as late as 1840. 

Among later citizens at West Bend may be named, 
as one prominent in the community, 

Major Lewis May. He came to Clarke in 181:9. 
He had five sons and one daughter. He was a useful 
citizen, a Baptist church member, active in the neigh- 
borhood prayer meetings and in church meetings at 
Ulconush. He died. in 1868. 

- Charles May, one of the sons of Major May, resides 
upon the home place. He has quite a large family 
growing up around him, sons and one daughter. 

Miss Magoie May married one of the Kilpatrick 
family at Wood's Bluff. Asahei, or "Dick" May 
resides near the old home. 



SKETCHES OF OTMKH PHOMINENT CITIZENS. 527 

AiDoiii!; still later residents is ;in excellent citizen 
juid physician Dr. S. V. WKinj. His marriage to Miss 
Josephine Turner has been already mentioned. They 
have one son. Thomas, and three daughters, Mary, 
Jessie, and the now little and lovely Annie. 

cow AX. 

There are five brothers of this family in (Marke and 
Marengo. 

J. D. Cow AX is a merchant at Bashi in the north of 
Clarke. One brother, Edward Cowa.x, is a Methodist 
minister ; and one R. C. Cowax, lives with his father, 
an aged and very estimable Christian man. in Ma- 
rengo. 

JosKj'ii R. CowAX, a captain in the Confederate army, 
is a jdanter and merchant south of Woods Bluff. He 
is a prominent member of the West Bend church and 
of the Bethel Association, of which he is sometimes 
Moderator. 

Thomas J. Cowax has been a teacher and is now a 
farmer and merchant at West Bend. He is a member 
of the West Bend Baptist church and is interested in 
the Sabbath-school. His first wife was Miss Sophia 
Pace. She left a daughter Miss Willik Cowax, who 
is a ver}' fair and pleasant gii-1. and two sous, Wai.tek 
Cowax and Jkromh Cowax. These three children have 
tlieir characters ar.d destinies largely yet to mold and 
sliape. Their step-mother, the present Mrs. Cowan, 
was a Suggsville girl, a daughter of S. Coale. She is 
a very pleasant, lovely woman, and a good mother. 

T. J. Cowan went from Choctaw Corner, in the first 
company of Clarke volunteers, in the spring o+' 1861. 
He was first mari'ied in l.Sf»5. He is justice of the 



528 CLARKE AND ITS SUKROUNDINGS. 

peace and township school superintendent, and is well 
fitted to discharge the duties of these offices. It seems 
to characterize the Cowan family to be pleasant in so- 
cial life. 

An inhabitant of Marengo, who has seen much of 
the world, and whose eyes are keen to see the faults 
of church members, recognizes the father of these five 
brothers as a ChrUtlan man beyond all question and 
all doubt. Why are there not more such '\ 

CASSITY. 

Among the early citizens near Cofi:eevalle were four 
brothers, Ciiarlks, Robert, Huou, and James Cassity, 
and their sister Miss Naomi. She married Rev. Joseph 
Williams. Their daughter, Miss Martha Williams, 
married N. G. Christmas and had one spn, Felix G, 
Christmas. 

Another early citizen was AVieliam Murrell, who 
came to the neighborhood of Cofteeville about 1808. 
He accumulated propert}', built the residence after- 
wards owned by W. L. Scruggs, was state representa- 
tive from Clarke in 1819 and 1820, and was active in 
the cause of education and in all things which tended 
to promote the prosperity of the community. He had 
two daughters, who were well educated, and one son. 
One daughter married John N. J\raffitt, son of the cele- 
brated preaclier John N. Maffitt. Her husband became 
commander of the Florida. The other daughter mar- 
ried James M. Rondurant. 

Joseph E. Murrell of Mobile is a son of John Mur- 
rell who came from Tennessee in 1801. It does not 
appear that John Muri-ell became a resident east of the 
river. Murrell's gin, on the west side of the river, near 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 529 

the present Cofteoville landing, was built about 1812. 
Another was built soon after on the east side. Both 
were constructed by George Slater. 

^[ALONE. 

Liiwis M.vi.oxE, sou of James Malone of Virginia, 
removed to Darlington district, South Carolina, 
married Miss Mary Pistole, removed to Bayou Sara, 
Louisiana, and then, before 1812, to the county of 
Washington. lie and his wife both died in Fort St. 
Stephens, before the Indian war closed, and were bur- 
ied in the Old St. Stephens cemetery. They left one 
daughter, Elizabeth, who married Morris W. Hunter 
of South Carolina, and six sons: George B., DruryR., 
Charles, Lewis, Nathaniel, and James B. 

James B. Malone, of the firm Malone and Foote, 
of Mobile, has been a leading commission merchant 
for many years. He has accumulated a large amount 
of property. He has four daughters and three sons. 
Now passing beyond the prime of life, he has a pleas- 
ant home in the city where for so many years lie has 
been one of the solid business men. His wife was 
Miss Steele of Monroe. 

Nathaniel Malone, the oidy other survivor of the 
six brothers, all of whom, after the war of 1812, set- 
tled in Clarke county, is still residing on his plantation 
near Cotfeeville. He married Miss Elizabeth Thorn- 
ton, daughter of James Thornton, grand-daughter of 
Abraham Thornton of South Carolina. He has sev- 
eral children. One of his daughters is the wife of J. 
FosciTE, a merchant of Coffeeville. 

All the members of the Malone family were, in their 
day, highly respected citizens of Clarke, "full of life^ 
34 



O30 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

social, kind, and charitable." N. Malone, the oldest 
representative of the family in Clarke, is an active 
member of the Baptist church at Ulconiish. Although 
no longer young he is still very sociable, sprightly in 
conversation, abounding in illustrations, and hospit- 
able. 

Fr.vxk Malonk, one of the sons of N. Malone, 
married recently Miss Scruggs, daughter of Gross 
Scruggs. Miss Mattjk Malone, a young daughter, 
sprightly, pleasant, and lovely, has lately married J. 
Dawson of Coffeeville. 

BUSINESS AT OOFFKEVILI.K. 

About 1810 the business men engaged in selling 
goods wei-e Douglass, and Bowman & Bush. 

Sons of one of these merchants wei-e James B. and 
Robert Bowman. Robert Tayloi-, father of Christopher 
and John P. Tayloi-, became a merchant here about 
1S28. He removed to Greene county. W. II. Foster 
was also a merchant at quite an early day. For many 
3"ears John W. Figures was a leading merchant at 
Cofteeville. He is elsewhere mentioned. 

At present there are three stores in the village. 
The largest amount of business is done by J. Foscuk. 
He has been for a number of years a resident of the 
county, engaged for a time in the turpentine business, 
and now for several years has been aprosperous mer- 
chant at Cotieeville. He has three sons, Henry, Claj'- 
ton, and Earle, and a very pleasant home. He is 
clerk of the Ulconush Baptist church, careful and ex- 
act in business matters, conscientious and faithful in 
religious duties. He is an excellent example of a 
Southern Christian merchant. 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 531 

"With Coffeeville the western bend of the river ends. 

VIII. OTHER LOCALITIES. 

Ben.iamix DeLoach was born in Virginia according 
to his statement, December 15, 1770. He is now dead, 
but the year of his death is not recorded. The foUow- 
ing reminiscences concerning him were written by W. 
D. Cou^'CIL, himself an aged citizen of the county, in 
August, 1872. 

"He emigrated to this country - in a i-olling liogs- 
head, in 1810 ; was an inmate of McGrew's Fort with 
Darling Peevy, Joseph Mott, Jonah Mott, Wm. Mott, 
the McGrews, Callers, Scarboroughs, Whites, Pughs, 
Putledges, Trawicks, the Hicks and Webb families, 
Mathew Brewer, Richard Odom, and a number of 
others, whose descendants are living in this county. 

' Uncle Ben ' was a great scout and fighter; was in 
the fight with the Indians at the 'Bully Hill,' on the 
road now leading from Tallahatta Springs to Wood's 
Bluff, and was also in the 'Edwards Field' fight on the 
road now leading from Linden to Coffeeville. 

At the Edwards Field fight turkej' tails were sud- 
denly elevated above the heads of \the savages, as a 
signal for firing and for the purpose of halting the 
whites. Uncle Ben, being wide awake, cried out ' In- 
dians I' when a volley of rifles was fired at the noble little 
band of white men, consisting of Col. John McGrew, 
Silas Scarborough and three sons, David White, David 
Phillips, Joab White, Bradbury, and a few others. 
Col. McGrew and a man named Griflin were killed on 
the ground. ' Bradbury was mortally wounded and died 
on the road to the fort, at the first or second branch. 
[Fort Easeley.] 

Uncle Ben was willing to lay down his life for his 
country, and stood as a bulwark of protection between 
the savages and w<Mnen and children who were depend- 
ent upon him. 

♦ Used in the sense of region. His goodf were in the hogshead. 



582 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. . 

After peace was made, he returned to liis home, mar- 
ried IsabeHa Leach, on Bashi, in the northwestern part 
of tliis count)', and has been a practical farmer ever 
since and a citizen of this countj-. 

Uncle Ben. from his own statements, was one hun- 
dred and one years old, the 15th of last December. 
Twelve months ago he was his own mill boy, and two 
years ago he visited Mobile on business. He is now in 
good health, and has not approached imbecility. 

When the rays of the sun scarcely penetrated the 
dim forest ; when the savage yelled with impunity, the 
ferocious beasts howled at mid-da^^ uncle Ben was here, 
riding up and down these hills and valleys, exposed to 
the inclemency of the weather, protecting the women 
and children from tlie merciless war-club, and when he 
reposed he leaned upon his musket." 

The name, John McGrew, in the above should 
evidently be William. The probability is that this cen- 
tenarian died about 1876, the oldest inhabitant j^robably 
in the county. 

Randall P. West settled in Washington county, two 
miles south of old St. Stephens, before 1810, perhaps 
about 1800. He was connected with the Paradise 
family of England. He had business relations with a 
line of vessels engaged in trade between Liverpool 
and New York, and came to the United States in the 
interests of this trade. He retired from commercial 
pursuits, settled in Washington county, returned to 
England to settle up his business affairs, ajid was never 
heard of b}' his family afterwards. His son, William 
P. West, was born near St. Stephens in 1810. Other 
members of the family are, Robert West, living at 
Marion, Alabama; John R.West, who lived near Gos- 
port in Clarke ; and Mrs. Saxton of Tuskaloosa, whose 
daughter married Thomas O. Summers, a leading Metli- 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 533 

odist of Tennessee; also Mrs. Converse, who lives in 
New Orleans, her husbancrs relatives living in the city 
of New York. This family are intiuential Presbyte- 
rians. Thus the original church of England family, 
have like so many others, gone literally and religiously 
in difterent directions. Another, a younger representa- 
tive of this early pioneer family, is Walter W. Wkst, 
formerly of Camden, now of Selma, connected with the 
Southern Argds. He is an excellent canvasser for a 
pi^riodical, a young man of fine business abilities, intel- 
ligent, and pleasant in social life. 

Another of the early settlers in Washington was 
John a. Richardson, now an aged man, residing four- 
teen miles from St. Stephens and eighteen miles from 
the State line. He has brought up a family of some 
eight sons and one daughter. 

CALLER AND CALLIER. 

Noted as members of this family have been, it has 
been exceedingly difficult to obtain such facts and rec- 
ords as would show any reliable family line. 

Court records and legal documents have been con- 
sidered more reliable than personal recollections. 

It seems that Robert Caller, migrating in that 
North Carolina company mentioned on page 75, became 
a resident of Washington county in 1802. In the same 
year James Caller and John Callier were also citizens 
of this county. (For the orthography of these names 
the Washington court i-ecords have been taken as au- 
tliority, — see page 90, where one name follows the 
other, as taken by the author from those records — yet 
the recording clerk nuiy have committed an error here, 
and it is possible that the name should be John Caller. 



534 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

On page 189 an extract from Clarke county records 
shows that John Caller was Chief Justice of the tirst 
court in Clarke, held in 1813.) Of the descendants of 
John Caller or Callier it has been dilficult to find any 
trace. A tradition has been found that Robert Caller 
had a mill and gin near Suggsville, but this is doubted 
by some who are now^ living. 

Colonel- James Caller, who led the Burnt Corn ex- 
pedition, had three sons, James S., Robert and Green. 
One daughter was married to Gabriel Moore who after- 
wards became governor of the state, and United States 
senator. The wife of Major John McGrew was a Miss 
Caller, perhaps another daughter of Colonel James 
Caller. 

He owned a ferry at the month of Stave creek, and 
he or one of his sons owned at one time the landing 
at Jackson. Two of the sons, James S., and Green 
Caller lived near Jackson. 

Major James S. Caller at length removed into 
Clarke county, south of Suggsville. In 1836 he volun- 
teered for the Creek and Seminole war. He was at that 
time the tallest man in Clarke county and the tallest in 
his regiment. 

James D. Caller, elsewhere mentioned, was prob- 
ably his son. Mrs. Jane Caller, now living south of 
Suggsville, and Miss D. Caller, an excellent teacher 
now at Choctaw Corner, are of this family line.* 
Francis Caller, living in .1816, was probably of this 
same line. 

CALLIER. 

There came from Georgia into Clarke, but not among 
the earliest settlers, a nephew of Colonel James Caller 

*1879. Miss Caller is now Mrs. D. C. James, residing at Bladon Springs. 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 535 

<>t" W'usliington, (and with a slii^lit cliaiige in tlie name, 
such a change as is common in many families,) Euwin 
Callikk. Pie had three sons, Armstkad M., Thomas 
E., and Lemuel Calliek. The father, Edwin Callier, 
a cousin of .\[ajor James S. Caller, died about 1857. 
Fnrtlier trace of this familj^ has not been found. 

nrr.L. 

^YI^LrAM Hii,L came from South Carolina about 
18J8. He had two sons and seven daughters. One 
of the daughters was married to Colonel Megginson 
of (Irove Hill, another became the wife of Elder 
John, usually called Uncle Jack, Talbort, and one was 
the tirst wife of James Cleveland, the mother of the 
two (jlder sons. 

Wir.LiAM Hill, one of the sons, as mentioned above, 
married Miss Finman and had nine children. He be- 
came a Baptist minister. Mrs. Belk, Mrs. Dunham, 
and Mrs. Pope were his daughters. 

Tkavis PIn.L, the other son, mari'ied Miss Elizabeth 
Hearin. He was quite wealthy. He had four sons 
and six daughters ; William, Robert, John, and Wash- 
ington ; and JSTancy, Sarah, Mary, Martha, Caroline, 
and Ann Eliza. Miss Sarah married W. Cam mack, 
Miss Mary married and removed to Texas, Miss Martha 
married John Creighton, Miss Caroline married Elisha 
Bettis, and Miss Ann Eliza, known as Annie, married 
Meredith Carter. 

Travis Hill died in March, ls«)4. 

John Hill went to Wilcox county, married Miss 
Sarah Bryant, and now lives in Mobile. They have 
eight or nine children. 



536 CLARKE AIS^D ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Washington Hill married Mrs. Cleveland. They 
live near Winn's mill. 

Elder William Hill, the oldest son of Travis Hill, 
was born in Angust 182-1, was ordained as a Baptist 
minister in July 1849, and has been pastor of different 
churches. 

His iii'st wife was Miss E. Williams. They had two 
sons, Jolni and George, and three daughters, Sarah, 
Nancy, and Emily. Brother Hill, having lost his wife 
by deatli, afterward was married to Mrs. Wilson, form- 
erly Miss Eliza Creighton. They have one son, Will- 
iam, and one daughter, Martha. Tlie family residence 
is in the Horeb neighborhood, in a small and sheltered 
valley, about half a mile southeast from the site of 
Fort Sinquefield. Brother Hill is a most estimable 
man, being among that class of Christians who are 
recognized as peculiarly ''tlie salt of the earth," care- 
ful to give no offence in anything, "that the ministry 
be not blamed," following after the things tliat make 
for peace and whereby one may edify another. He was 
associated for many 3^ears of ministerial labor with 
Elder Hiram Creighton, and like him has endeavored 
to walk close with Cod. He is free from anything like 
austerity or gloom or formalism, has quite a pleasant 
vein of humor, esteems and honors his brethren, and 
lives peaceably with all men. He lias a very pleasant 
household, and a home of abundant comforts. He is 
diligent in business as well as fervent in spirit, together 
with his liousehold serving the Lord. 

Miss Nancy Hill was married to Thaddeus Hick- 
son, a son of Elder Hickson. 

John Hill and Geokge Hill are both mai-ried, and 
the three families are living in the neighborhood of 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. O-U 

Pleasant Grove oliui-cl) of wliicli tliey are members. 
They are active workers in cliuroli and Sunday-school 
life. 

There are yet othei* members of the large Hill family, 
descendants of the second William Ilill. of whom no 
special record can here be made. Some are in Texas, 
and some are still in Alabama, and some have gone 
frr>m earth. 

Y. B. Whati.ey is a grandson of Elder W. Whatley. 
He married the youngest child of Cyrus Allen Esq. 
He has five sons and four daughters. He is a good 
practical farmer, is a carpenter for his neighborhood, 
is ingenious and intelligent, a thriving, upright, citizen. 
His home is on tliat historic section nineteen repre- 
sented on page 155. It is about one-third of a barley- 
corn's distance further east than is there represented. 
And ''the family burial place'' as there represented is 
about the same distance too far east on that diagram. 
The other letters on that page, 155. are supposed to 
stand in the rigltt places. 

Some brothers, second cousins of F. B. AVhatley, 
reside in the western part of the county. These all 
are. in one line, of Huguenot descent, and are now all 
Baptists. 

Mrs. TThately. in her girlhood, was a schoolmate of 
tlie children of the Creighton family, and when some of 
these return to the old home localities for a visit, they 
find in Mrs. Whatley a faithful friend of their early 
days. 

It is pleasant to have hearts remain fresh and true, 
amid the changes of years, of circumstances, and of the 
earthly lot. True hearts are not inclined to grow cold 
or to grow old. 



538 CLARKE AND ITS SUKROUNDINGS. 

Captain Josiau Joxks, a militia captain, came to 
Bassetts Creek abont 1809. He was probably a con- 
stituent member of the old Bassetts Creek church. He 
died in 1843. His son, Major Josiah Jones, named on 
page 3-25, has had nine daughters and four sons. Four 
of the daughters are married. 

Rev. P. C. Drew, a talented and promising young- 
minister, is -one of his sons-in-law. Quite a household 
still gather each day at the pleasant home of Major 
Jones, a good home for neighborhood night meetings, 
a good home for hospitable entertainment, a home 
where the light of religion shines. Homes ought to be 
pleasant where prayer goes up each day to the thr<^ne 
of grace and glory. 

DR. .1. .r. COBB, 

A member of the Georgia family of Cobbs, three 
brothers, as usual, having come from England, one 
settling in Virginia, one in North Carolina, and the 
thii-d in Georgia, his grandfather in Georgia having 
nine brothers, James J. Cobb came to Clarke county in 
1845. He married Miss York. In 1846 he became a 
resident of Grove Hill. He has lived, for the most 
part, since then in the central parts of the county, and 
now resides half way between Grove Hill and Coffee- 
ville. He is an intelligent, kindly, open-hearted man. 

Dr. T. B. Savage was for several years a resident 
physician at Grove Hill. About 1852, he removed to 
Arkansas. He returned to Clarke and spent a few 
years, and again removed to Arkansas where he now 
resides. He was married to Miss Bell, a sister of Cap- 
tain John W. Bell. 

Martha D., Mary, and Deela, Patterson were sis- 



SKErCllES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 589 

ters. The eldest became ]\Li-s. And^e. This family 
removed to Arkansas.* 

Thomas J. Fokd, one of those brothers elsewhere 
named, was a teacher at the Grove Hill Academy, and 
afterwards for several years one of the officers and pub- 
lic men of Clarke. 

He wields a ready pen. A sketch called A Lost 
Child, dated at Rural Academy, April 11, published in 
the Dkmockat, was written by him. He was married 
to Miss Susan Lawson of Grove Hill, who died Janu- 
ary 18, 1872. She left two generous, pleasant, lovely 
daughters, Clara and Leona, who will soon be young 
ladies in the bloom of womanhood. Perhaps they will 
not forget their friends of 1874. 

Miss Margaret M. Braxtley, whose father came 
from one of the Carolinas and made a liome in AVash- 
ington county, was married to Hexry G. Jordax. 
April 2, 18,32". 

Miss Margaret Mitchell afterwards became a Mrs. 
Jordan. She was the owner of the " Buena Vista 
plantation,'' so called, on the Mitchell reserve. f 

D. Lewis Brantley was born in Old St. Stephens, 
and was acquainted with some of its historical associa- 
tions and with its ruins. He was a member of an old 
family in AVashington county. He came to Grove Hill 
and was for a time a salesman in the store of Mrs. 
Daffin.t- 

Lieutenant AVilliam Bradberry was a young law- 

* Mrs. Aiidoe died tlierc, Septemht'r 22, 1879. 

■t She died in Mobik' on Friday, December 5, 1879. 

J This worthy and promisinj; young man died at Grove Hill in the snminer of 
1880. The Grove Hill Sabbath-schools, .lune 5, adopted the following: 

•' Jifnolvfd, That in his death the church and Sabbath-schools have lost one of 
tlieir most consistent members, and society one of its brightest ornaments." 



540 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

ver from North Carolina, wlio with Coh)nel Mcl-rrew 
and Robert Caller led a small company that joined 
Colonel Caller's expedition, and who was severely 
wounded while bravely contending in the unfortunate 
action at Burnt-Corn. He accompanied Claiborne's 
expedition into the north of Clarke, in October of 1813, 
as captain, and was fatally wounded in one of the 
scouting engagements connected with Claiborne's brief 
sojourn at Fort Easley. Captain Bradberry was car- 
ried back to St. Stephens, where he died. 

POOUE. 

David Pogue, who was born December 26, 1781. 
coming when a young man into the Mississippi Terri- 
tory, was married in Clarke county, IS^ovember 7, 1816, 
to Miss Elizabeth Bostick, who w^as born December 17, 
1SI)2. 

The family residence was near Magoffin's store, 
north of what became Grove Hill. The children of 
this family, in the order of age, were the following : 
Julia Ann, who married John Saint, 
PiNKNEY H., who married Miss Sarah Portis, 
Martha M., who married Peter Dubose of Jack- 
son, 

Joseph B., who married Miss Mary Hall, 
Levi S., 

Sahah E., who married Dr. jS^. C. Gordon, 
Maria A., who married George Carleton, 
David J., who married Miss Henrietta Bryant, 
Caroline A., who died unmarried, 
Eliza Jane, who married Elijah P. Chapman. 
David Pogue, the father of the ten above named, 
died August 16, 1837, having been married not quite 
twenty-one years. 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 541 

Mrs. Elizabeth 13. Pog^ue, alth()u<;li not thirty-tive 
veurs of age at the time of her husband's death, re- 
mained a widow, devoting herself to the care of hei- 
family, and is still living at the old family home, with 
her youngest son. 

Mrs. Anxe Bolyn', an aged lady, now blind, living 
on the west side of the river, not far from Jackson, is 
said to be a great-grand daughter of that Bassett who 
came into these, then, Spanish dominions about 1789. 
lie was killed by the Indians while going to Pensacola 
on business, in 1793. His name was given to the large 
creek in Clarke county, and to the large one in Wash- 
ington county which Hows into the river a little further 
south. The moutlis of the twt) Bassett Creeks are 
about seven miles apart. Mrs. Bolyn's grandfather, 
then a youth, was at school in Virginia at the time of 
his father's death. He afterward returned to the Tom- 
bigbee settlement. 

Samuel Ethridoe, a native of Xorth Carolina, came 
into this region in 1811, when his son, A. D. Ethridge, 
now living near Bedsole's store, was about nine years 
of age. He first settled north of what is now Grove 
Hill, three-fourths of a mile from the Allen place, or 
from Magoffin's store, which place was first settled by 
a man named Gardner, and Grove Hill by Lamsdale. 

A. D. ETHRiDciE is a tall, intelligent, venerable 
looking man, about seventy-five years of age. His 
home is away from the common lines of county travel. 

Samuel McClure came in 1818, and settled a short 
distance east of Grove Hill. HLe had two sons, Robert 
and James, and four daughters. ]\rrs. Spinks. Mrs. 
Johnson, Mrs. Drinkard, and Mrs. Small, and perha|)S 
other children. The familv came from South Carolina. 



542 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

W. M. (toodk, lived near the present Di-iirv mill. 
He had two sons, Robert and James Goode. The lat- 
ter was the law^yer whose life and death have been 
recorded. This family was among the cultivated and 
refined of C^larke. It has few representatives now. 

COLONKL .TAMES SAVA(iE. 

So near as has been ascertained Colonel Savage, 
who married Miss Marj- Chapman, settled at Grove 
Hill about 1834. He kept for a number of years one 
of the three hotels of the town. He was also a com- 
mission merchant, of the lirm of Savage, Williams, & 
Co., (James Savage, S. J. Williams, and J. S. Will- 
iams,) 23 Commercial Place, New Orleans. He did 
not, however, spend any large portion of his time in 
New Orleans. He had one son James C and three 
daughters, Martha E., Mary E., and Alice A. These 
were beautiful and accomplished girls. Miss Martha 
and Miss Mary and their father and mother died of 
yellow fever in 1853. Miss Alice, the youngest of the 
household, was married to the Hon. James S. Dickin- 
son in 1868. She is a very lovely woman, the mother 
of Miss Minnie Dickinson, of Robekt Lee, and of little 
Mabel. 

James C. Savage, an excellent classical student at 
the Grove Hill Academy in 1852, still remains at Grove 
Hill. He has held diiferent county offices for several 
years. All the family have been noted for urbanity, 
i-efineinent, and courteous, obliging dispositions. 

Mrs. Amelia Pugh has had four daughters and 
three sons. She was as a mother for several years to 
Miss Alice Savage, (after the death of her father and 
mother in 1853,) her home being with Mrs. Pugh until 



SKETCHES OF OTIIKR PROMINENT CITIZENS. 548 

lic'i' marriage to Colonel Dickinson. Mrs. Pngh was 
left a widow in 1871. She has had nianv responsibili- 
ties and cares, bnt has sncceeded well in tlie discliai-ge 
of her various duties. She is an estimable, Christian 
woman, bearing the trials, sorrows, and changes of the 
earthly life, with the cheerful spirit of an earnest, inner 
Christian life. Of her four daughters. Miss ]\Ielissa 
mari'ied I. (Irant. editor of the Clark County Demo- 
crat ; Miss Martha married Jackson Megginson, and, 
after his death, Walter Bettis ; Miss Kebecca man-ied 
Ca])tain S. T. Woodard, and in a few years died ; Miss 
Hannah married W. F. Woodard, and she also died, 
leaving to her mother's care a little gi-anddaughter, 
Winona J. Woodard, now a promising, pleasant, win- 
ning, attractive young girl. 

Near Mrs. Pugh's home, three and a half miles 
west from Grove Hill, is a large porti(jn of a large fos- 
sil tree. The bark was on a few years ago. Now that 
is mostly gone. "Residing at home with his mothei* is 
her youngest son, Sidney S. Pugh, to whom the author 
is indebted for a piece of wood, which is claimed ;o ue 
from that block to which once Columbus w?'-; chained in 
the prison of San Domingo, and was brought from 
there, or sent, by Jonathan Elliott, United States min- 
is tei-. 

The second son, Dj-. Jesse P. Puon, graduatina" at 
the New Orleans Medical College about 1875, went to 
Wortham, Texas, and "entered upon a successful and 
lucrative practice.''" 

The oldest son, Walter Pugh, who married Miss 
Virginia L. Dickinson, lives near his mother's, four 

*Marcli 8, 1881, Dr. Pugh died, only two iii()iitli> after lie had visited his home, 
aiipareiitly in robust health. He left a « ife and three little children. 



544 CLAKKK AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

niilos from (ti-ovo Hill, on tlu' Cotteeville road. He is 
a noble-liearteil man, with a wife of the same sterliiii;' 
(qualities, and promising sons are growing up in their 
home. They are members of the (Trove Hill Baptist 
clmrcli. 

Judge Tekkkll Powkks became a resident near 
Grove Hill before 1830 he was one of the early teach- 
ers, he opened a hotel at Grove Hill, he became conntv 
clerk, and was judge ot the Orphans' Court from 1845 
till 1850. He had several sons and four daughters. 
Miss LvDiA, the oldest, married (xideon B. Massey, 
who was editor of the Southern Keeorder. Miss 
Xaxcy and also Miss Sakau P. nuirried at Mobile. 
Miss Jane died at Grove Hill, the first victim of the 
yellow fever in 1853. 

C. L. Powers, one of the sons of -Judge Powers 
who died Aug. IT, 1S53, has been for many years 
engaged in the printing business at Mobile. Since 
Xov. 1865, he has been a mend^er of the tirm known 
in business circles as Thompson and Powers. He has 
four' . "'-h-en living. He has one brother in Kansas, 
and one wi.v- ^^^ probably in Texas. 

In that fatal autumn of 1S58 the first frost that fell 
from the clear cool sky, to drive the plague from men. 
welcomed as such a blessing in all the yellow fever 
region, came October 28. 

DU'KI.NSOX. 

Richard Dickinson, from Spottsylvania county, 
Virginia, came to Clarke in 1821. He first located 
three miles north of the present Grove Hill, aiul three 
years afterward established his home very near where 
now stands the (irove Hill IMale Academv. 



SKKTCIIKS OF orilKIl IMJOMI.N'KXT (THZENS. 545 

In 1833 he roinoved to Tiilljihatta and resided there 
iiiiti! 1.S66. In January of tliat year he gave up liis 
j)huitation home and spent the remainder of liis years 
in the homes of his chihlrcm. In ix24r he represented 
the county in the state legislature, but was not fond of 
l)olitieal life and devoted himself afterwards almost 
exclusively to his family and his plantation. He was a 
practical farmer, fond of agricnltui-al pursuits, and was 
successful in that chosen line of occupation. Fle ac- 
cumulated considerable proj)erty. He was domestic 
in his liabits and loved to be at home. r)ne would 
exi)ect to find the home of such a man a pleasant spot. 
He had four sons and three daugliters. Of all these 
two oidy are now living: Joux Dickinson at Pineville 
in Monroe county, a merchant and a farmer, and Jamks 
S. Dickinson of Grove Ilill. Residing principally 
with tlie latter, while on a visit at the home of the 
former their father died, December 18, 1869, in the 
eighty-seventh year of his age. 

Says one who knew him well : ''He was a man of 
})ure and spotless integrity, sound and discriminating 
understanding, and unaffected urbanity of manners. 
Cvondjining great dignity of de|>ortment and suavity of 
manners with unwavering firmness and inflexible fidel- 
ity to principle, he presented a j)erfect model of the 
gentleman of the old school. Fully recognizing the 
obligati(jns, and faithfully discharging the duties of all 
the relations of life, he ever enjoyed the perfect con- 
fidence, and the highest respect and esteem of all who 
knew him. His \ii-tuos and excellencies commanded 
the love and admiration of his neighbors and friends, 
and the lunnn' and reverence of his children.'' 



54:6 CLARKE AND ITS SURKOIXDINGS. 

II(»X. JAMES S. DICKIXSOX. 

Born in Vir^-inia January 18, 181S. coming- with his 
parents, when tliree years of age into tlie ne>\^ state oY 
Ahibania, his life measuring tlie whole of Alabama's 
existence as a state, James S. Dickinson lias spent all 
his years of remembered life as a citizen of the county 
of Clarke. Pie has for the iirst pictures "on memory's 
walls"" these tall pines, and solid hills, and running- 
waters, and singing birds. Here, in the neigh boi'hood 
of what was to become Grove PlilK l)egan his school- 
boy <lays. One of his early teachers w as T. W. Price, 
who became principal of the Rehoboth Academy, and 
a daughter of whom is now a teacher in Colonel Dick- 
inson"s family. Ileaching early manhood, he taught 
for six months in the Pogue neighborhood in 18!:{1». 
Two of his brothers wei'e also teachers : William C. 
DicKixsox, who was then teacliing at White Hall in 
Marengo county, who afterwards became a merchant, 
and then a large commission merchant at Mobile, and 
RiciLVRo Dickinson, who began in 1834 to teach in an 
academy at Linden. The mother of James S. Dickin- 
son was a sister of Hon. William Crawford who went to 
St. Stephens as United States district attorney in 1817. 
from Louisa county, Virginia. 

A member of so intelligent a family, gaining himself 
an education, v^and then acqniring some experience in a 
teacher's profession, he returned to Virginia, entered 
the law school of the University of that state, and was 
authorized to practice law in 181-1. The same year he 
was married to Miss Mar}- F. Dickinscju, who was born 
in Louisa county, Virginia, in 1821, and in 1845 they 
became residents of Grove Hill. x\ law otiice was im- 
mediately opened, and a practice, which became ex- 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT (TTIZENS. 547 

tensive aiul lucrative, and has continued for thirty-two 
years, was at once commenced. Mrs. Dk kinson was 
baptized and became a member of the lioreb Baptist 
church in 1852. She was connected with different 
activities in the community, some of which are else- 
wliere mentioned, and died January 12, 1864. Her 
ijurviving children are the following : 

Richard C. who married Miss Caroline SawN^er, 
Virginia Louisa, who married Walter Pugh, 
James W., who married Miss Jane Fleming, 
Mary Elizabeth, who married Dr. Bryan Boroughs, 
John Quarles, Martha Augusta, Leroy Calhoun, 
"Walter Grandison, and Em^ia Sarah. In all nine 
sons and daughters. 

In June, 1868, Hon. J. S. Dickinson was married to 
Miss Alice A. Savage, the youngest daughter of Colonel 
James Sayage of (irove Plill. 
Her children are three: 
Minnie, Robert Lek, and Makkl. 
In the Dickinson mansion which is pleasantly situ- 
iited in the eastern suburbs of the town, and is a large 
and well built edifice, a large family therefore meet. 
Some little grandsons. children of Richard C. Dickinson, 
alsi. form at present a part of this pleasant household. 

Although giving his attention mainly to his profes- 
sional duties, J. S. Dickinson was state senator for 
Clarke, Baldwin, and Monroe, in 1853 and 1854. He 
was an elector on the Breckenridge presidential ticket 
in 1860, and in 1863 was elected a member of the Con- 
federate Congress, his competitor for that position being 
Hon, C. C. Langdon of Mobile. He took an active part 
in the Confederate cause, so long as any hope for that 
cause remained, staid at his post of duty in Richmond 



548 CLAKKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

until March, 1865, and on the breaking up of the Con- 
fedei-acy on that eventful spring, he returned to Grove 
Hill. Here he resumed his law practice and resumed 
his United States citizenship. 

As a leading lawyer and citizen for thirty years his 
name will be found or has been found, connected with 
various organizations and enterprises. Master of " Ma- 
con Lodge No. T," since 1848, he was an active member 
of the oraer of Sons of Temperance and their highest 
officer in the county ; he was for many years the presi- 
dent of the board of trustees of the Grove Hill Acad- 
emy; and energetic and active in every good cause. 
He can saj^what very many cannot say, that he never 
used a profane or obscene expression, and never signed 
a promissory note. A g()od example in these respects 
for the young boys of Clarke to imitate. 

He combines in a hirge degree those social and 
moral qualities which render one deservedly popular. 
Relined, obliging, courteous, upright ; possessing un- 
affected dignity and a clear appreciation of -genuine wit 
and humor; generous in disposition; looking at the 
brightest and best sides of persons and events ; and 
sharing the ennobling influences of true piety without 
bigotry or ostentation ; he is one of those to be highly 
prized as an associate and a friend. 

Inheriting property and accumulating in a lucrati\e 
practice, he possessed before the war a large abundance 
for home comforts and for useful and benevolent enter- 
prises. He expended a large amount for the Confeder- 
ate cause, especially in equipping and sustaining the 
Dickinson Guards. He lost b}^ means of the Confed- 
erate money fifty thousand dollars, having taken it in 
payment of debts, even after his return from JRichmond. 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 549 

Aj)ril 23, 1865, when it was generally known that the 
currency was worthless. Keal estate and a good pro- 
fession still remained, although the results of the war 
swept away large resources. 

In June, 1854, he was baptized, on profession of faith 
in Christ, and became a member of the Iloreb Baptist 
church. When in 18B1 the Grove Hill Baptist church 
was constituted he was one of the leading members in 
its organization, was elected one of the deacons, and took 
an active part in the erection of a house foi' worship. 
A fund to pay t(.)r the building was provided for by sub- 
seri[)tion, but the various amounts subscribed had not 
been collected ; and when the building was completed 
the contractor called upon him' in regard to the money 
then due. He immediately took from his private funds 
fifteen hundred dollars and paid the carpenter in full. 
The war times and consequent losses and financial 
changes soon came, and the subscription fund was never 
collected. His investment was therefore securely made. 
A good, substantial house of worship, sixty feet in 
length by forty feet in breadth with a wall fifteen feet in 
height, situated in a pleasant oak grove, furnishes a 
delightful Sabbath home for the members of the Grove 
Hill Sunday School, and a quiet place for public wor- 
ship, where revival seasons have been from time to time 
enjoyed; and the successful lawyer, the talented senatoi-, 
the honored congressman, the wealthy citizen, knowing 
well the uncei'tainty of earthly wealth and honors, and 
liaving learned the imperishable nature of the spiritual 
kingdom of our Redeemer, is glad that he has such an 
investment in a house of worship in behalf of the ever 
advancing cause of our Anointed Saviour. 

Well has Froude said, "Opinions alter, manners 



550 CLARKE AND ITS SURKOUNDINGS. 

change.'" Our children's chihh'en may look with differ- 
ent eyes from ours upon oui- political and social opinions- 
and upon our past institutions; but the religion of the 
New Testament is sure to be the religion of all this 
world's future. And what is done here for the cause 
of Christ will live on in the great Kingdom and forever. 
Political honors ma}^ fade; but while the Baptist church 
at Grove Hill remains, and remains as representing the 
revealed truth, imperishably connected with that will be 
the name of James S. Dickinson. For the children's 
children and for the coming generation that memorial 
will be left. Those names are secure, for this world's 
bright future, which are linked in with the name of 
Christ.* 

Jamks W". Dickinson, the second son among the 
children named above, marrying Miss Jane Fleming.^ 
has made his home in Grove Hill, the place of his birth. 
He has shared with Judge IVoodard the position 
of superintendent of the Sabbath School, he has read 
law, and has engaged to some extent in business as a 
merchant. He is one of the active young members of 
the Grove Hill Baptist church, and a leader in the 
praj^er and social meetings.** 

SAWYKR. 

The records and incidents in regard to this family 

* Before this chapter has passed the press I received a postal card contaiiiiiiir 
the following: " Office of Clarke County Democrat. Grove Hill, Ala., .July 2t, 188>. 
Dear Sir; Our good friend, Hon. J. S. Dickinson died 23d at 3:20, p. m. of conires- 
tion of the bowels, after an illness of about 48 hours. Oiir county is shadowed hy 
this calamity. Yours truly, Isaac Grant. 

Well may the inhabitants of the county of Clarke mourn the loss of so talented 
and useful a citizen, and my heart is bowed in grief at the loss of such a friend, a 
friend for full thirty years. T. H. P.. 

**In the summer of 1879 he was licensed by the church to preach the Go-pel 
He too, is enrolling his name on a fadeless page, among a noble brotherhood. Hr 
has since been ordained, and is now one of the leading pastors of the county. 



SKy/rCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT ( ITIZENS. OOl 

have not l)ec'U obtaiiicd. The names liave been t'ound 
of tlie tol lowing living lii'irs of the estate of 

Mrs. SisA.N L. Sa\vvi:k': .Iiilian Sawyer, Frank Saw- 
ver, Iniogt'iie Sawver, and tlie children of IVlrs. Caroline 
I )ickinson, who was formerl}" ('aroline Sawyer. Coni- 
missioners a])|)()inted to divide; the lands of tlie estate 
etjually among these heirs were, fFohn C. Chapman, S. 
T. W.H.dard, W. U. Cherrv, and Frank T. Pavne. 



In 18r»o a family bearing this name resided among 
the hills of the "fork," between Fort Carnev and Rock 
(Jastle. In this family were some very pleasant cliild- 
ren. Some of these are no doubt living now, but no 
facts concerning tliem have been obtained, and so no 
record of them can be made liere, as <)nly two mental 
pictures appear, their school life at Rockville and 
their home life among those forest covered lulls. 
If any of them slnndd see these lines they too may re- 
call incidents of that cheerful scliool life in the years of 
the bright past. 

Wri.LiAM S. l*o\vi:i,L was a truly talented and nobly 
endowed young lawyer, a graduate of the University of 
\'ii'ginia, a relative of Mrs. J. S. Dickinson, who not 
very long before had established himself in professional 
life at drove Hill, of the firm of Dickinson and Powell, 
who, among so many others, fell a victim to the yellow 
fever in 1853. The cast of his mind was logical. He 
was a remai-kably fair disputant, ready to give due 
weight to an op])onent'S arguments, and was well read 
and well informed. Very mild and unassuming in 
society, he was one to be highly respected and esteemed ; 
l)ut before he had gone far on the opening [tath of life, 



552 CLARKE AND ITS SURUOUNDINGS. 

he was called to tread tiie unseen way in the valley of 
death. 

Hon. Johx Y. Kiltatkiok. A son of the iii'st ])i'i!!ci- 
]jal of the Grove Hill Academy, J. Y. Kilpatrick 
spent many of the years of his youth at Grove Hill, 
studied law, became a business partner with James S. 
Dickinson in the practice of law at Grove Hill, enlisted 
in the Confederate army, was appointed captain of his 
company of mounted men in place of Captain S. B. 
Cleveland, who was promoted, after the war closed re- 
sumed the practice of law, and opened his olfice at 
(^amden in Wilcox county. 

His first wife was Miss Virginia Carleton of Clarke, 
a niece of James S. Dickinson. iVfter her death he 
was married to Miss Ella Phillips of Selma, who died 
at their residence in Camden, February 19, 1870, in the 
twenty-first year of her age. She is said to have pc^s- 
sessed all the refinement and cultivation that social po- 
sition and wealth could bestow, and to have shared 
the grace also of a true Christian woman. She was the 
daughter of Dr. J. B. Phillips of Selma. 

Captain Kilpat ick has once more entered into 
marriage relations. His present wife was Miss Lizzie 
Carleton, a daughter of George Carleton of Bashi. Both 
she and her cousin are elsewhere mentioned in these rec- 
ords. In 1863 J. Y. Kilpatrick was state representa- 
tive for Clarke, and in 1865 he was state senator. 

Talented, aspii-ing, and thus far successful in profes- 
sional and political life, and comparatively young, he 
may yet reach positions equal in honor to those gained 
by the young men who two generations ago commenced 
professional life at St. Stephens and at Claiborne. 
"Times" have very materially changed, and yet posi- 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 553 

tions are ()])en. Ttilent and i)i'incii)k' still woi-k u])ward 
in the woi'hl. 

Miss Eliza J. Kir.i'ATKicK was a dau^litei- of li. II. 
Kilpatriek. Slie spent several years of her short life 
at Grove Hill, was talented and admired, and died 
December 13, . at the early age of twenty, in Ma- 
rietta, Georgia. A friend said of her. "She felt it 
hard to die so yoiing and battled against death with all 
hei- might, but that cruel, remorseless foe, would not 
be put away. She left us with the almost cei'taiii 
knowledge that she would never retui-n — she tore her- 
self away from those few ties that were interwoven 
with her existence, and went on her way to die a 
sti'anger in a sti'ange land. She was taken from us 
before lite was bereft of one of its charms, or her intel- 
lect could be said to be half matured ; but i-eligion shed 
its bright halo around her, and her mind became soft- 
ened and plastic to the all subduing love and power of 
God, and hei- soul became fitted to join the bright choir 
above." 

IX. BASH I AND TALLAIIATTA. 

Colonel B. C. Fostek, was a native of South Caro- 
lina. He resided for many years near Suggsville. In 
18-tO he removed to Bashi. He had one son and six 
daughters. For many years he kept the Tallahatta 
Springs, some notice of which is given in this volume. 
His name has been frequently mentioned in these 
records. 

His son, Bkn.iamin C. Foster, died in the Confede- 
rate army. His daughters became Mrs. P. Davis, Mrs. 
AV. Danzie, Mrs. J. M. Finch, Mrs. H. Hurd. Mrs. T. 
Shields, and Mrs. S. H. Barnwell. 

There were probably three other daughters and 



554 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

unotliei' soil, but of them no account has been obtained. 
Three of the daughters named above are now living. 
Colonel Foster died October 29, 1871, one day before 
lie had completed his eighty-first year. He became a 
citizen of Clarke about 1817. His relatives reside in 
Tennessee and in Mississippi. He was a citizen of 
much social and moi-al worth. 

Mrs. Fostkk is now in her seventy-ninth year. She 
resides with her son-in-law, 'S. H. Barnwell, near 
Tallahatta Springs. She is quite active and vigorous, 
and bids fair to pass beyond the foui' score years of 
life. 

H. T. Whkeless came into Clarke county in 1852. 
His first residence was near Choctaw Corner. He has 
been for thii-ty-four years a teacher of vocal music. He 
has a pleasant voice and is a good singer. 

He has six sons and two daughters. Soon after the 
war closed he married Mrs. Fountain, formerly Miss 
Margaret Creighton, who had one son and one daugh- 
ter. He purchased the Cave Plantation in Baslii beat, 
and has resided there for several years, where he has 
one of the delightful homes of Clarke, blest with a 
noble hearted, excellent wife, and with pleasant, duti- 
ful children. Although not wealthy, he is one of the 
independent planters of the new system of work, rais- 
ing good crops, hiring but little help, and taking his 
cotton to Demopolis whenever it suits him better than 
to send it to Mobile. Being free from debt he can 
take the advantage of the diflferent markets. In his 
social and family relations he is peculiarly pleasant. 
At his home some delightful visits were enjoyed in 
1874 and in 1877. 

His oldest daughter, a step-daughter, was married 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. JOD 

to Tlioiiias J. Williams, a son of John (1. Williams of 
Bashi. 

Here in:iy properly be noticed 

THE BASHI CAVKS. 

These caves are the i-emains of the wall and cover- 
ing of what seems to have been a subterraneous stream, 
running in its bed, for how long a time none can tell, 
away from the light of the sun and the music of the 
birds. But at length the top or cov ring in some 
places began to crumble, the sunlight here and there 
peered in upon the sparkling waters, and the birds* 
songs mingled with the streamlet's murmurs. 

A fissure ran along the center of tlie roof of rock, 
and from that fissure or continuous crevice pieces grad- 
ually fell in fragments and were carried onward bv the 
curre it. Other larger pieces remained upon the sides 
of the stream. At present the roof remains entire over 
the bed of the stream in only a few places, and these 
places are called the caves. 

The principal ones are four in number, and were 
named in 187-i by some visitors, or in commemoration 
of their visit, the Visitor's Cave, the Dark Cave, the 
Pool or Basin Cave, and the Ball Cave. The Visitor's 
Cave is some two hundred feet in length, winding 
slightly, one half of the length being covered entirely 
by the overarching rock, the other half being partly open, 
the rock having fallen from one side as far as to the 
central fissure in the roof. A nice bathing pool is left 
under the arch of rock where the opening begins. A 
larger and deeper pool and a cascade are at the farther 
end of the cave in the darkness. The sides of this 
cave are well covered with the names of visitors cut in 



556 CLAKKE AND ITS SUllROUNDINGS. 

the soft limestone. The tempei'ature of this cave seems 
to be always delightful. Extract from the cave notes. 
"Nov. 20, 1877. A warm rain is falling without. 
Within, as I write, in the edge of the light, it is very 
j)leasant. The sound of the falling water, one hundred 
fe^t off in the darker recess, is soothing music to my 
ear." The temperature of this water, both in summer 
and winter, is very agreeable to one who is accustomed 
to cool bathing. A bath in the deeper pool would 
probably make those not thus accustomed shiver. 

The Dark Cave, as its name imports, is one in which 
the explorer needs a torch to venture safely. 

The Basin Cave and the Ball Cave are both fine 
grottoes. These ai'e all visited more or less, in the 
summer season, by the young people of the neighbor- 
hood, and many a pleasant hour is spent in ram- 
bling amid these cool and secluded formations of 
nature. There is something grand in the feeling that 
one penetrates into the sides of the great hills, on 
whose sunny surface the cotton is growing and man is 
busy with his work, while within, save the sound of the 
running water, it is the stillness and the loneliness 
of the hidden depths of earth. 

Shells of different varieties have abounded in these 
caves ; and although large numbers have been removed, 
fine specimens of a past age of ocean life may yet be 
found. The cuts on the opposite page '^'present a view 
of some shells taken recently from their Bashi beds. 
How long it has been since the animals lived that in- 
habited them who can teWi The- present distance to 
salt water is eighty miles. When did the Mexican 
Sea cover South Alabama ? 

Besides the shells, many of which in former years 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 557 

were burned for lime, beds of iriurl are found lu-re 
which UKifV some day prove valuable. 

The true h)ver of nature, witli not enough of, so- 
called, science to spoil his taste for the wonderful works 
of the Lord of nature, penetrating alone into these 
grottoes, and wandering amid these lime hills, will re- 
joice in the stupendous proofs of a present, ever-acting, 
intelligent Power. And if he believes, as some do, 
that on this earth will yet be the reign, the dynasty, of 
glorified man, he will rejoice to think what beautiful 
and glorious spots there will be on the new-made earth. 

Leaving these cool resorts, and the glory, that is 
to be, of earth restored, and the plantation of the 
Wheeless family, and the brothers here and the sisters 
three, especially Nathan, and Carlos, and Sherman, 
Miss Carrie,* Miss Lucy, and Miss Leila, we may step 
upon an adjoining plantaticm and look upon another 
household bound to this one by ties of kindred. 

Wir.LiAjr Williams, from Georgia, became a resi- 
dent near Bashi in ISIS. He was an ingenious work- 
man, a millwright, ginwright, and blacksmith. He 
built the first gin in the north of the county, tlie first 
mill on Bashi Creek, and had a shop near his home. 
Sometimes, when there was no work to be done, he 
would say to a neighbor looking in, "No silver in the 
shop to-day." Again, when he was very busy, and 
the sparks from his forge and red iron were fl\ing in 
every direction, he would say, "Silver in the shop 
to-day." (Wi-itten language cannot convey the differ- 
ence of tone in these two suggestive expressions.) He 
had four sons, John (J., William B., Samuel L., and 

♦Mii-s Carrie I. WIuh-!,v s \vu< inaniud lo Jac.b L. (HM.dman of Tallahatta 
Springs in 1878. 



558 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

(ileorge W. Like many of the other early settlers he 
sometimes went out with his gun as a hunter, obtaining 
a share of the abundant wild game. He was very suc- 
cessful in shooting deer at night by torch-light, in that 
mode of stalking, or still hunting, known as "shining 
the eyes/' 

John G. Williams, one of the sons named above, 
was born in Clarke county in 1820. He has been an 
active citizen, and is well known in the northern and 
central parts of the county. He married Miss Mary 
Creighton, a daughter of Rev. Hiram Creighton, and 
resided at one time a few miles south of Grove Hill, 
near the present hr>me of M. S. Ezell. For several 
years he has resided in Bashi beat, and near Elam 
church, just west of the caves. He is a prominent 
member of the Elam Bai)tist church. 

He has four sons and live daughters. 

He was for some little time a member of the Confed- 
erate army. He was on duty at Mobile or near that 
city, and had some very entertaining experiences in 
regard t(j camp life, especially in connection with being- 
detailed for li<jhf duties. These duties he found rather 
heavy. 

He has a pleasant home, which is made full of life 
and love by the presence of the children. He has a 
good, productive plantation. 

Percy B. Williams, the oldest son, resides in Mis- 
sissippi. He has been engaged in business there for 
several years, and is understood to be doing well. 
His wife is a cultivated woman, a member of a promi- 
nent Mississippi family, a sister of the editor of the 
Baptist Becord. 

Thomas L.Williams, who married a choice girl, lives 



SKET( HES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 559 

<iii a ]»laiitatioii close by his lather's home. He lias 
some jtromising little children. 

William B. Williams, in the summer of I860, when 
about ten years of age, in company with his cousin. 
Miss Carrie K. Jarvis,went with the Rev. T. H. Ball to 
Indiana and to Massachusetts. He attended school at 
jS^ewton Center near Boston, formed many ac([uaint- 
ances in the vicinity of Boston, and returned to Indiana. 
He afterward travelled over some portions of the West, 
was in twenty-one states and in Canada, and after peace 
was restored in the country, he returned to (^larke 
county. He afterward taught school in Mississippi and 
Alabama, and began to study for the ministry. He was 
licensed to preach, but has not yet been ordained.'''" In 
1876 he was mai-ried to Miss Ella Creighton, daughter 
of T. A. Creighton, and is residing in a pleasant neigh- 
borhood, in a hilly region, in Wilcox county, between 
Choctaw Corner and Bethel. His wife was one of the 
choice girls of the Horeb church and neighborhood, 
intelligent, energetic, and amiable. She was engaged 
in teaching in the spring of 1877. They have a little 
daughter a few months old. Intelligent and resolute, 
if health is granted to them, they are likely to succeed 
ill theii' plans of life. They are active in church and 
Sabbath school work, and undei'stand the law of trying 
to do good. 

(JuARLKs .1. Wir.LiAMs. the youngest son, is yet a 
member of the home circle. He is enterprising and 
active, and is looking forward to a useful, an honorable, 
and yet a laborious pathway in life. Efforts are to be 
made and success is yet to be achieved by him. 

The five daughters also still remain at home. 

-Onl;iiiir(l ill Aju-il, ISV.l. 



560 CLARKE AISID ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Miss Sarah, goiiorallj called Miss Sallie, is the old- 
est of these, a busy, industrious housekeeper. 

Miss EsTKr.LK V. Williams is a young lady posses- 
sing a lai'ge amount of vigorous life and pleasant 
humor. She has been a teacher in Clarke county. 

Miss Martha Ball WilliajNis, is* a namesake ot' her 
Indiana aunt. She has some undeveloped talent and 
energies for a life work. For her the paths of life are, 
for the most part, yet untried. 

Miss Cteokgia L. and little Mary are the other two 
daughters of this household, the buds of promise yet 
to be unfolded. Life for them is bright. It is written 
somewhere, that thy children shall be, "like olive- 
plants round about thy table." And it is also said that 
'•'children of the youth"" are "as arrows in tlie hand 
of a mighty man." 

The thoughtful and earnest lover of his race, the 
true student of nature and revelation, will surely look 
with gladness upon the large families of children in the 
homes of Clarke. And perchance he will remember 
the beautiful picture of a prophet's vision in regard to 
Jerusalem of old when her day of prosperity returns 
again: "And the streets of the city shall be full of boys 
and girls playing in the streets thereof" 

A short walk,fi"0]n the home of the Williams family, 
along a plantation path, through cnltivated fields brings 
one to the Visitors' Cave; and then continuing eastward 
across the plantation one soon will reach the W'heeless 
home. 

In a later chapter, the reader will find an extract 
from the author's notes under the date of December 14, 
1S77, written near by the caves and between these two 
plantations. 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 561 

There are caves in other parts of the county, but so 
far as expk)rations have yet been made they are all 
small. Near the residence of T. A. Creighton south of 
Grove Hill is one called the Cold Cave and another 
known as the Cascade Cave. These are near a lime- 
stone quarry, and in the sides of some massive hills. 
There are other caves near Jackson, and south of Suggs- 
ville, and in the "fork.'' 

Explorers in some of these have reported singular 
adventures; but none seem to have as bright associa- 
tions clustering around them as those little grottoes 
called the Bashi caves. 

Around Elam church is a pleasant neighborhood. A 
Sabbath school is sustained, and Saturday and Sabbath 
meetings are regular and interesting and well attended; 
but the names and records of all the families have not 
been furnished for these pages. Members of the 
Griffin, of the Drinkard, of the Walker, and of the 
Hill families yet remain. 

Jaisies L. Clark is a business man of the present. 
Hejias spent most of his life in Clarke county. Eight 
years ago, in 1869, he commenced business some six 
miles from Choctaw Corner in Bashi beat. His sales 
iiave averaged about fifteen thousand dollars yearly. 
One year they reached twenty-two thousand. He ships 
yearly about three hundred bales of cotton. 

He has built a pleasant residence, and has erected 
within the last two years a steam grist mill and gin. 

John Day opened a store at the same place two or 
three years ago. His business is increasing, and vil- 
lage life is commencing around this locality. 

L. FiLMAN commenced business at Tallahatta Springs 
in 1877. At his store the post office is kept. 
36 



562 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Mathew Goodman came to Clarke in 1859. He has 
eight sons and four daughters. This large family have 
homes at the Tallahatta springs. They are among the 
industrious, excellent, Christian citizens of the county. 
Some of them are members of Elam church. 

Another member of this church is Willia^e Griffin 
who was born at Woods Bluff in 1812. He was a son 
of David Griffin who fell in the Bashi skirmish. He 
says that he has been told, that the last sight of his 
father which his comrades had, as the Indians were 
firing upon them, showed him in the act of loading his 
gun with a broken limb, but still resolute and undis- 
mayed. He understands that the body of his father 
was never found. All trace of him afterward was the 
finding of the breech of his gun. Whether the Indians 
carried him off, or the wild beasts devoured his remains, 
is not known. His wife was left a widow with five 
children. She with her children, and with other women 
and children, was on a flat boat, in this trying war 
time, passing up from St. Stephens. At McGrew's 
shoals the women and children were put on shore to 
lighten the boat, and two colored men took places at 
the oars with the other men. The boat was "stove," 
or wrecked, the colored men were drowned, the goods 
were lost, and the women and children, who it seems 
were returning home from the fort, were left destitute. 
They were, however, kindly cared for. 

A rather funny incident took place at these shoals a 
few years afterwards. An early steamboat, with not 
the propelling power of the present river steamers, was 
trying to make its slow way up the rapids. It would 
get almost up to the head of the rapids and then be 
forced back by the current. After a few efforts the 



SKETCHES OF OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS. 563 

boat seemed likely to succeed, when an observer on 
the bank " liailed," and addressed the captain. Sup- 
posing that something important was wanted, the cap- 
tain of course gave orders to shut off steam, and then 
listened for the message from the bank, the boat in the 
meantime once more Hoating down. Then distinctly 
from the shore came the words from the lips of the 
"native,'' accustomed to flat boats and barges, but not 
to the new competing steam boats, " // you can't do 
better than that, you might as well quit, and give it 
up, and go hach^ And this encouraging remark was 
all the message "v^hich the man had to deliver. That 
captain was no doubt "mad"' wlien again he ordered 
on steam. 

S. Hill came from Georgia when seventeen years 
of age, in 1809. But few memorials of him remain. 
He was twice married, having nine children in the first 
family and six in the second. He was a member of the 
Methodist Church and in advanced age was noted for 
manifesting a cheerful, uncomplaining disposition amid 
troubles and trials. He spent the last year and a half 
of his life at the home of his son Moses Hill, near 
Baslii, and died July 5th 1877, being eighty-five years 
of age. 

There are many others who have lived or are now 
living in this county, active, useful, excellent citizens, 
whose names have not been furnished for these pages. 
Somewhere all the good will have a deathless record. 

If now any should ask why so much space has been 
<levoted to these individual and family records? who 
will care to read the two long chapters { some answers 
are ready. In the first place, biographical writing is 
considered instructive to the young. "Lives of great 



564 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

men all remind us, We may make our lives sublime.'' 
And any true and real life is instructive. Then, the 
children and the grandchildren of these here named 
will certainly read with interest sketches brief as these. 

There are good reasons to believe that the citizens 
of Clarke will appreciate and prize these memorials, 
and that some of them will estimate aright the research 
necessary to secure that degree of accuracy found on 
the foregoing pages. Perfection is not claimed. 

And now, in closing these sketches, which have of 
course a different interest to friends and kindred from 
what they will have for the distant stranger, for all, 
but especially for such, these reflections may be sug- 
gested. First, how variously, and singularly often, 
families are interwoven ! Here are a large number of 
faujilies in a large county, and no one is without ties 
that bind to some other family; and by these connected 
ties, leading from family to family, all the inhabitants 
of the county are more or less closely bound together. 

In the second place, if such a brief view of inci- 
dents and relations connected with the families of a 
single county occupies so much space in this volume, 
what would be the amount of material for some account 
of all the families of the land. How voluminous in- 
deed would be an account of the fau)ilies of the world! 
What would it be to know but the names and the 
relationships of all the mighty multitudes that have 
been and will be members of the human race! And 
not one of them all, the most insignificant one that 
ever lived is unknown or forgotten before God. But 
what human mind ever will count up the members of 
the race of man! 



CHAPTER XVI. 

RELIGIOUS HISTORY. 

'•Tlie rigliteons shall l)e in everlasting remenibriince." — Insulin 
112:0. 

THE autliorities for this chapter are, besides per- 
sonal conversations with those living in 1877, Hol- 
combe's Baptists in Alabama, Lorenzo Dow's Com- 
plete W.orks, Minutes of the Bethel and other associa- 
tions, Minutes of the Alabama (conference and of the 
South Alabama Presbyterv, and a diary kept by M. 
Ezell. 

For the first hundred years of white occupancy here, 
from 1700 to 1800, missionaries connected with the 
French and Spaniards made efforts to instruct the 
Indians and to keep up among the European settlers 
and liojourners the observance of Christian worship. 
In Spanish times, before 1800, a Roman Catholic 
church and parsonage had been erected at St. Stephens. 
After the Spaniards withdrew, no public religious wor- 
ship was for a number of years maintained. " Hun- 
dreds," savs Pickett, "born and bred in the wilder- 
ness," who had become men and women, had never 
seen a minister of the Gospel. The first Protestant 
preacher, who visited the earh^ American settlers along 
the rivers, was the noted and eccentric Lorenzo Dow. 
On the nineteenth of April, 1803, he crossed the 
Oconee river, and meeting with a small company who 
were migrating thither, he set off with them for the 
Tombigbee river. Reaching the Alabama the company 



566 CLAKKE AND ITS SURROTT]S*DIN"GS, 

swam that river, in order to save thirty or forty miles 
travel, but he passed down the river ten miles, and 
staid over night with a family of mixed blood, paying 
for his entertainment one dollar and a half, for himself 
and horse, and then he went to the Teusaw settlement. 
He made an appointment there for the coming Sunday 
and crossed, by the Cat Off, to the Tombeckbee, 
through a cane-brake seven miles in extent. He there 
found a thick settlement, and then a scattered settle- 
ment extending along the river for seventy miles. 
Through this he sent a chain of appointments which 
he soon after tilled. The inhabitants, he says, are 
mostly English, — by which he probably meant Ameri- 
can, not Spanish nor French — but are "like sheep 
without a shepherd."" This was in May. 1S03. (See 
Lorenzo Dow's Complete Works, page 76. ) 

He went westward, returned to Xew England, was 
married, came to Xatchez, and then passing through 
the Choctaw country, he reached, according to his 
diary. December 2", 1804, the first house of the Tom- 
beckbee settlement, four miles from fort St. Stephens, 
where, he says, there was then but one family. He 
adds, ""but it will be a place of fame in time.*' He 
went down the river, as the water was then high and 
the swamp not fordable, to the Cut-Oif, a distance 
which he calls about seventy miles, his route probably 
following the windings of the river. The island at the 
Cut-OflF contained, according to his estimate, about 
sixty thousand acres. He held meetings during the 
six days of his visit through the settlement where, he 
says, there was not a preacher of any society, and then 
he started for Georgia, having appointments already 
made there with the davs and the hours fixed. 



RELIGIOUS HISTORY. 567 

Lorenzo Dow therefore, eccentric, but eloquent and 
devoted, whose name is known over all the land, was 
the first Protestant minister who visited these river 
settlements. Truly did he penetrate the wilderness. 

In 1799 the Natchez settlements were visited by a 
Methodist missionary from South Carolina, the Rev. F. 
(ribson, who returned there in the fall of 1800. sent by 
the Tennessee Conference as missionary to those western 
and distant settlements. A second Methodist mission- 
ary, the Rev. Mr. Brown, was sent there in 1802. In 
that same year a Baptist missionary, the Rev. David 
Cooper, commenced labors there. The Episcopal 
Church was soon represented by Dr. Cloud, and the 
Presbyterian by Messrs. Montgomery and Hall who 
remained in Xatchez for several years. 

We return to the banks of the Torabeckbee and of 
the Alabama. 

I. METHODIST LABORS. 

The material for this sketch of the religious history 
of the past hundred years, amid these surroundings, 
as connected with the Methodist denomination, is not 
abundant. The Methodist Church has had here many 
zealous, diligent, faithful, and successful laborers ; but 
the records are kept elsewhere, not on the ground 
where they have labored. 

The visits of Lorenzo Dow have been already men- 
tioned. 

The first name found, to be placed on record here, 
if not the very first Methodist preacher ever in the 
county, is that of the Rev. John French. The date 
assigned to him is 1810. He founded French's Chapel 
and gave name to a landing on the Alabama. He was 
with Dale's party at the time of the canoe fight, and 



568 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDrNGS. 

was I'ust stepping into the canoe himself after Dale, 
when Austin said, "I am young; let me take your 
place." So French remained on the bank with the 
others and allowed young Austill to share in the re- 
nown which was that day gained. He was of Irish 
descent, and was earnest, active, with a lively sense ot 
humor, and quick in taking advantage of circum- 
stances. The following characteristic anecdote con- 
cerning him is preserved. The village called Macon 
had come into existence. Judge Powers was keeping 
a hotel at what was afterwards the Megginson place. 
Like most hotels in those days it had a small bar. A 
company from the river had gone up to the village 
and among them ^Brother Fi-ench. They dined at 
Judge Powers' hotel. Just as Brother French, was 
about to ask a blessing, his eyes, througli the ©pen 
door, caught a glimpse of a man at the bar raising a 
glass of spirits to his lips. "'StopI StopI " shouted the 
minister, "Wait till we ask a blessing." AVhat effect 
the incongruous ideas, of intoxicating drink and a bless- 
ing, had upon the inmates of the bar, tradition has not 
disclosed. 

Associated with Brother French was another local 
pioneer preacher, the Rev. Joshua Wilson, from North 
Carolina. He also has left the reputation of having 
been a true and worthy Christian man. 

To these two may probably be attributed the com- 
mencement of Methodist church-work in South Clarke 
and West Monroe. A number of Methodist families 
were, by 1818, in and around Suggsville. To these and 
others a visit was made by Bishop George, of the Meth- 

* When brother in this chapter be^ns with a capital letter it denotes a 
minister. 



RELIGIOUS HISTORY. 569 

odist Episcopal Church, who preached at Suggsville in 
1S19. 

lu the center of the county was at this time tlie 
Tiev. Elijah Gilmore. In the north part was probably 
no resident minister. 

A pioneer preacher passed through, in 1817, on his 
way to the Indian Territory. He is said to have per- 
ished with cold after swimming a creek west of the 
Mississippi river. 

The first missionary sent into Clarke was Thomas 
Griffin, from the Tennessee Conference, in 1817. 

The Rev. John R. Lambert, who was on this circuit 
in 1819 and 1820, married a lady residing near Coffee- 
ville. His son, the Rev. John R. Lambert, is now a 
missionar}' of the Methodist Episcopal Church South 
in China. ^' 

Near Choctaw Corner, in the edge of Marengo, and 
perhaps in what was then Wilcox, about this time were 

the following local preachers. Robert Woodard, 

Barr, and Dr. Mitohum. 

The Tombigbee Circuit was soon established. Its 
bounds were from Nanafolia to Choctaw Corner, to 
Lower Peach Tree, to Suggsville, to the James neigh- 
borhood, now Gainestown, then up the Tombigbee 
River to Nanafalia. Afterwards two circuits were 
formed in the county, known as Suggsville and Grove 
Hill, to which a third, Choctaw Corner Circuit, was 
added. Classes were formed, class leaders appointed, 
and houses of worship erected. French's Chapel and 
Spink's Chapel were among the earliest church build- 
ings. The church house in Grove Hill was erected 

♦The word /he before tlie title Her. has not always been inserted in this work, 
as it is larj^ely Western and Southern custom to omit it. See the Standard of 
Chicago, and the Alabama Bavtist. 



570 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

about 1830. The house at Choctaw Corner was built 
about 1850. 

A camp-ground was laid off in quite early times near 
Lower Peach Tree, and camp-meetings were held. Such 
meetings were also held near Suggsville, and for a few 
times near (xrove Hill. 

The following list of the preachers on the Suggsville 
Circuit is from the records kept by Miel Ezell. 

Lewis Turner 1828, 1829, Daniel Manayhan, 1830, 
Joshua Peevy 1831, Job Foster, 1832, D. Manayhan 
and Finley 1833, McDonald 1834, A. S. Dickinson 1836, 
Daniel Barlow 1836, J. B. Loftin and C. Pritchett 1837, 
Bowels and Hopkins 1838, B. Barr 1839, Dickinson and 
Smith 1840, Dickinson 1841, P. Kellough and Fowler 
1842, Kellough and Curray 1843, Laney and Whitting- 
ton 1844, Hunter and Winters 1845, Roper Newman 
1846, J. L. Cotton 1847, D. L. Patton 1848, C. B. East- 
man 1849, C. Bempo 1850, J. B. Rabb 1851, A. S. Dick- 
inson 1852, T. S. Abernathy 1853 and 1854, W. P. 
Norton 1855 and 1856, A. N. Sanford 1857, H. Urque- 
hart 1858, D. M. Hodson 1859 and 1860, J. W. Shores 
1861 and 1862, J.W. Rush 1863 and 1864, J. M. Poland 
1865 and 1866, Hood and Green 1867, E. P. Phillips 
1868, N. E. Butt 1869, C. C. Ellis 1870, A. J. Coleman 
1871, S. M. Parnes 1872, E. M. Turner 1873, 1874, 1875, 
B. D. Gayle 1876 and 1877. 

It is rare to find a record like the above kept by one 
private church member in a single neighborhood for 
fifty years. And these fifty years, it so happens, 
measure exactly the church life of an aged neighbor 
of M. Ezell, a daughter of a pioneer local preacher, 
Mrs. Henderson, a notice of wliom will be found in 
another chapter. 



RELIGIOUS HISTORY. 571 

Besides the church buihlings already named, a neat 
structure, the Fort Madison Church, standing nearly on 
the old site of Fort Glass, was erected about 1858. 
In Jackson there is also a neat Methodist house, very 
prettily situated. 

Statistics from Conference Minutes. 

Grove Rill Circuit. Membership, 375, church build- 
ings, 6, sittings, 200O, value of buildings $2,500, value 
of parsonage, $300, Sunday-schools, 3, members, 50. 

SaggsviUe Circuit. Membership, 191, church build- 
ings, T^, sittings, 1650, value of buildings $3,875, value 
of parsonage $1000, Sunday-schools, 7, members, 145. 

St. Stephens Circuit. Membership, 370, church 
buildings, 6, sittings, 1500, value of buildings $1600, 
Sunday-schools, 8, members, 134. 

Bladon Springs Cii'euit. Membership, 379, church 
buildings, 5, sittings, 1850, value of buildings, $3,150. 
Sunday-schools, 4, members, 250. " 

Choctaw Corner Circuit. Membership, 280, church 
buildings, 6, sittings, 2000, value of buildings $1600, 
value of parsonage $450. Sunday-schools, 6, members, 
168. 

Lover Peach Tree Circuit. Membership, 262, church 
buildings, 4, sittings, 800, value of buildings, $3000, value 
of parsonage $300. Sunday-schools, 2, members, ST. 



An amusing incident occurred at a meeting held in 
some neighborhood near Suggsville in early times. A 
man unaccustomed to attend public or religious meet- 
ings was drawn out by the novelty of some occasion. 
lie arrived rather late ; he thought of early instructions 
in regard to paying visits ; and, as he entered the door- 



572 CLAKKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

way of the room, taking off his hat and bowing to the 
congregation, he said, according to what some one had 
told him was etiquette, " Your servant, ladies and gen- 
tlemen." A very polite man was sitting near the door, 
and forgetting for a moment the proprieties of the place, 
through the suddenness of the stranger's entrance, he 
sprang up and replied to the salutation, "Walk in, 
walk in and take a chair.'' The gravity of minister 
and audience was overcome by the ludicrousness of the 
scene, and they tried to sing two stanzas and closed the 
exercises. 

REV. JOHN SCARBOROUOH. 

John Scarborough came from Georgia before the 
Indian War. He was one of the inmates of Fort White 
during those Creek incursions, and afterward settled 
some seven miles south of Choctaw Corner, where he 
spent the remainder of his days. 

He began to preach about 1820. He was one of the 
earliest local preachers of Clarke, and, as such, he was 
earnest, faithful, zealous, one of the staunch, true men 
of his day. One who knew him well says of him, he 
was "an honest and good man." He was of medium 
height, and what is called an experimental preacher. 
Like all the local preachers, and many of the Baptist 
pastors of that time, he supported his family by carry- 
ing on a small plantation. He died about 1858. The 
funeral services were conducted by the Rev. S. M. Gil- 
more, one who was well fitted to do justice to his char- 
acter and to his memory. The names of these veteran 
pioneers, who planted and also watered, in this part ot 
the great vineyard ; and the records that remain of 
their life and labors ; those who now enjoy the fruits, 
and who have seen many an ingathering, should faith- 
fully cherish and honor. 



KELIGIOUS HISTORY. 573 

« 
By and by, both he that soweth and he that reapetli 
will rejoice together. The great harvest time is coming. 

KEY. STKl'HEN M. (HLMOKK. 

Among the pioneer settlers of the year 1816 there 
came a mother and six sons, who found a home near 
Magoffin's store, not far from Fort White. They were 
the family of the Rev. Humphrey Gilmore, a Methodist 
minister of Georgia, who was ordained by Bishoj) 
Asbury, at Augusta, Georgia, in 1801.''^ The names of 
these six brothers were John, Elijah, Wiley or Wilie, 
George W., Charles, and Stephen M. John became a 
missionary and was sent into North Alabama. Wiley 
went to North Carolina. George W. married, brought 
up a family, and removed to Texas. Charles went to 
western Tennessee and then to Texas, where he proba- 
bly still resides. Elijah married and finally removed 
to Mississippi. Elijah, Gilmore was a local preacher 
when he came with the family in 1816. He preached 
at Spink's Chapel. This chapel, named from the 
Spink's family, was the principal place for Methodist 
meetings near Grove Hill until about ]86U. Near it 
was the burial ground for the town and neighborhood. 

Stephen M. Gilmore, the Clarke county representa- 
tive of the family, was born in 1799. He was therefore 
about seventeen years of age when he came into the 
county. 

He was married in 1825 to Miss Elizabeth S. Rob- 
inson, and located near Choctaw Corner. Mrs. Gilmore 
became the mother of twelve children, two only of 
whom are now living. Mrs. E. Gilmore having died, 
Brother Gilmore married, in 1850, Feb. 25th, Miss 

♦The ordination paperis, containing the signature of the venerable Bishop, I 
f&w at Brother OilnioreV in the winter of 1877.' T. H. B. 



574 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

• 
Susan Slack. She became the mother of four children 

two only of whom are now living. It thus appears 
that death has many times visited this family home. 
Brother Gilmore was commissioned as Justice of the 
Peace in 1827, in 1835, in 1841, in 1850. In 1828 he 
was licensed to preach by the " Conference held for 
Marengo Circuit." In 1842 he was ordained. From 
the time of his license to the present he has performed 
ministerial labors constantly. He has married between 
two hundred and three hundred couples. The exact 
number is now lost. His residence was for a time in 
Wilcox county, as the commission for 1827 shows ; but 
in 1831 the boundary line of Clarke was removed east- 
ward to the middle of range four. 

In the religious history of the county will be found 
several particulars and reminiscences furnished by 
Brother Gilmore. His second wife, Mrs. Susan Gil- 
more, died in September, 1877 ; leaving him again 
alone, to iinish the remainder of his pilgrim way. He 
has ever borne an excellent reputation and has main- 
tained an unblemished Christian character. Almost 
eighty years of age, tall, spare, erect, but growing fee- 
ble now from j'ears and sorrow ; feeling the shadow of 
a recent loss obscuring the brightness of his earthly lot; 
he yet survives as a venerable patriarch among us, as 
the last representative of the early pioneer, Methodist 
ministers; showing us by a living example how pure 
and true a long life may be ; and showing us how the 
Christian virtues can adorn and ennoble, not only man- • 
hood, but old age. 

As a preacher he has deservedly ranked among the 
best of his denomination in the county ; not showy or 
what is called especially popular, but, as a close student 



RELIGIOUS HISTORY. 575 

of the Bible, such an expounder of its teachings as good 
judges of preaching like to hear. Such Baptist minis- 
ters as Elder Hiram Creighton used to speak of Brother 
Gilmore as a good preacher. 

In former years, when pulpit courtesies were com- 
mon, he was accustomed to labor zealously along with 
his Baptist brethren, who always loved and respected 
him; and. when, in these later years, the "Landmark" 
teaching and practice, so-called, prevented pulpit cour- 
tesies between the two denominations, it was no little 
trial to one of his liberal views, enlarged Christian love, 
and personal feelings in regard to an ordained ministry. 
But ere long, now, he and they will be, where no such 
lines are drawn, and where no shadows come between 
the ransomed of the Lord. 

Rev. Joshua Wilson, Senior, was born in 1760, in 
Virginia; the year in which closed between the English 
and French in America, the Old French War, fifteen 
years before the beginning of the Revolution. He re- 
moved to North Carolina. He came to Clarke, or to 
what was afterwards a part of Clarke, in lbl7. He was 
the father of Mrs. Finch, who- has been several times 
mentioned, herself eighty-eight years of age, and who 
has living a great-great-grand child. He was the grand- 
father of Judge Wilson of Grove Hill. He died near 
Gainestown in 1844, being eighty-four years of age. 
He was a truly pious and good man. 

The memor}- of their pioneer ministers, such men as 
French and Scarborough, as the Gilmores, as Robert 
Woodard and Joshua Wilson, if they were only local 
preachers, the Methodists of Clarke well may honor. 
In New Testament language such would be called 
bishops. 



576 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

II- BAPTIST CHUKCHES. 

As early as 1808, only four years after the second 
visit of Lorenzo Dow, some Baptists were found near 
the Tombigbee river in Washington and in what be- 
came Clarke county. On the east side of the river was 
William Cochran, a licentiate from Georgia, and on 
the west side was a Baptist minister named Gorham. 

1. The first church organized bears the date of 1810. 
This was the old Bassett's Creek church. The record 
is, "And on the 31st of March, 1810, the brethren 
having consulted each other on the subject, concluded 
to unite themselves together; and were constituted a 
church by our beloved brother James Courtney." The 
number of members was then about twenty. Elder 
Joseph McGee soon became their pastor. This church 
prospered for many years. Elder Hiram Creighton 
was for several years its pastor, but it finally disbanded, 
new churches having been formed around it. 

2. The second church in this region was Ulcanush,* 
constituted by Elders William Cochran and James 
Courtney, October 25, 1817, with the following mem- 
bership: John Pace and his wife Elizabeth Pace, 
William L. Thornton and his wife Nancy Thornton, 
William Stringer, Michael Miller, Tthoda Allen, and 
Joseph Williams. Brother Williams was afterwards 
ordained and became the pastor of this church. Says 
one who became an active member here, the Hon. E. 
S- Thornton, "Joseph Williams was long the leading 
spirit in the church, and I have often admired his zeal, 
in those days that tried the faith of Christians and their 
firmness, while seeing him wending his way among his 
little llock, with light and elastic step, giving encour- 
agement to them." 

♦Also writti'ii Ulconnsh, Ulconosh, and Ulciiiiush. 



RELIGIOUS HISTORY. 577 

William Stringer, wlio was a son of Mrs. M. Thorn- 
ton by a former marriage, was for some time the clerk 
of this church. 

Its growth foi' several j'ears seems to have been 
slow. Its time for ra])id enlargement came when shar- 
ing the pastoral labors of Eider John G. Williams. 

In 1860 its membership was two hundred and eighty- 
one, as reported to the Bethel Association. It was at 
that time the largest church in the association, the 
second in numbers being New Hope. 

The Rev. William Cochran, mentioned above, was, 
so far as known, the first minister ordained in Ala- 
bama, south of the Tennessee river. 

The date of his ordination is between 1810 and 1817. 

3. Pigeon Creek church was probably, in the order 
of constitution, the third. Date of organization 1818. 
First pastor, J. Anderson; second, W. Whatley; third, 
Ilezekiah Bussey. He was pastor as late as 181:0. At 
that time Elder John Talbert and W. Hill a licentiate 
were members of this church. It then numbered sixty- 
six members. In after years the Rev. H. Creighton 
was pastor of this church, and, changes taking place, 
after many years of prosperity it was finally disbanded. 

Ulcanush alone, of the three now named, is in ex- 
istence, having been a church for sixty years. 

In 1824 the membership was nineteen, and in 1826 
twenty-five. In 1831: Elder Joseph Williams was proba- 
bly still pastor; but in 181:0 Elder J. Flowers was pas- 
tor and the number reported was only twenty. 

The membership now numbers one hundred and* 
thirty-one, the West Bend church having been formed 
within its original bounds. 
37 



578 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

In 1818 was also constituted the Claiborne clmrcli, 
in Monroe county. 

In 1824 this church dismissed sixteen members to 
form a new church, and had fifteen left. 

In 1826 they dismissed thirteen and had thirteen 
left. They had as ministering brethren Whatley, Ellis, 
and Travis; and in 1830 J. H. Schroebel, who had been 
baptized in 1828 and then elected deacon, was licensed 
and also ordained as pastor. In five years the church 
numbered one liundred and forty-seven members. 

Another old cliurch in Monroe county is Zion, post 
office Monroeville. 

This church was constituted in 1824 by Elders Will- 
iam Jones and Willis Whatley, the latter becoming 
their pastor and so continuing till his death in 1829. 
In 1832 Elder John Mc Williams became their pastor. 
He was raised up among them. He is now an aged 
man and is still their pastor, having been connected 
with that church in the pastoral relation, up to this 
time, forty-five years. Such an instance is quite rare. 
The church in 1876 reported one hundred and forty- 
two members. The clerk of this church is W. D. 
McWilliams.* 

The Bethlehem Association, originally the Beckbee, 
to which these churches belong, was the first association 
formed in Alabama, altliough the Flint River organized 
in Tennessee in 1814 is called the oldest association 
in Alabama. Including churches in both states, it is 
called an Alabama association One of its churches, near 

♦While on board a passenger train bound for Mobile, October 19, 1877, near 
the middle of the night, there came into the same car, at a station in Mississippi, 
two aged men and some friends, who soon attracted my attention. Hearing some 
of their conversation, my curiosity was excited, and I soon found an opportu. 
nity to converse with one of them. They were the two brothers McM'illiams of 
Monroe. T. H. B. 



EELIGIOUS HISTORY. 579 

Himtsville, Flint Elver — constituted in October, 1808, 
is the oklest Baptist churcii in Alabama. 

The Bethlehem association was constituted in 1816. 
It comprised a very few churches in Washington and 
Clarke. Its territory extended eastward. In 1826 there 
were nineteen churches, and the names of six ministers 
were reported in the minutes of that year. In 1876 this 
association held its sixtieth annual session which, the 
corresponding letter says, speaking for the member- 
ship, "we hail with unusual delight." The number of 
churches reported was then thirty-four, number of pas- 
tors, eighteen. The entire membership was nearly 
sixteen hundred and fifty. 

4. Returning to the churches in Clarke county, the 
fourth was probably New Hope, constituted August 14, 
1824, by Elder S. Perkins and Truehart Tucker. . This 
church originated in the following manner. 

Many of the early settlers in the Lime Hills and the 
creek bottoms were accustomed to hunt on Sunday. 
This was a source of grief to some, who, in the Caro- 
linas and in Georgia, had learned to call the Sabbath a 
delight, and to observe it as a day of holy rest and wor- 
ship. At length an elderly lady, sister Byrd, gave out 
notice for a prayer meeting at the school house near the 
Indian Choctaw Corner. The hour came, the neighbors 
were present. She opened the meeting, she led in 
prayer, the neighbors sang together. Other meetings 
were appointed. The interest increased. Invitation 
was sent to Elder Solomon Perkins, residing near Lin- 
den in Marengo county, to come and preach to the 
people. He complied with the invitation, and soon the 
New Hope churcli was organized. The church was at 
length removed a few miles, to Choctaw Corner. 



580 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

5. Horeb seems to have been the fifth church con 
stituted in the county. The date of organization is 
September 9, 1825, Elders present, S. Perkins and T. 
Tucker. The location of this church was for many 
years about two miles north-east of Grove Hill. It was 
said of this church, " Spinks planted, Perkins watered, 
and God gave the increase." Lewis Spinks, who had 
come as a licensed preacher from Carolina, was im- 
mediately ordained the first pastor. In 1834 Hiram 
Creighton was ordained here and became pastor and 
so continued until his death in 1859. The location 
of the church was not long afterward changed. It is 
now near Fort Sinquefield, four and a half miles south- 
east from Grove Hill. P. M. Thomas succeeded H. 
Creighton as pastor. He died in 1873 and was suc- 
ceeded by W. Jacob Parker who died in March, 18T4. 
The present pastor is Elder William Hill. 

6. The next in the order of time is Ebenezer, situ- 
ated on Jackson's Creek, a few miles south-west from 
Grove Hill. This church was' formed by the labors of 
Elders Wflliam Clark and H. M. Todd. It was con- 
stituted in 1881. Passing through varied experiences 
and having several pastors, this church was disbanded, 
probably in 1859. 

7. Next in order is Salem, on the east side of Bas- 
-sett's Creek, formed by the labors of Elders Geoi'ge D. 
and Stephen Williams, and constituted in 1832, Sep- 
tember 22d, by Haywood M. Todd and George D. 
Williams. Elder G. .D.Williams was pastor until 1836, 
He was succeeded by Elder John Talbert. Elder L. L. 
Dewitt was afterwards pastor and for many years. His 
;son, W. H. Dewitt, is the present pastor. 

8. Paran church was constituted in January, 1833. 



RELIGIOUS HISTORY. 581 

The pastor in 1840 was H. Creigliton. The church had 
many additions by baptism and dismissed many by letter. 

9. Elam, "at the Choctaw corner,"* near the local- 
ity where New Hope church was constituted, was 
organized February 22, 1834, or 1833, by John G. 
Williams, PI. M. Todd, and G. D.Williams. It enjoyed 
the ministerial labors of Elders Jesse Flowers and T. 
Tucker, and was at length removed to its j)resent local- 
ity in Bashi. Remains of the old meeting house are 
still to be seen near the Indian boundary mound. N. 
Goodwin was pastor in 1860. 

10. Wood's Bluff church was organized, probably 
about this time, by Elder Williams, either J. G. or G. 
D. Holcombe has J. D. Pastoral supply in 1840 J. 
Flowers. Resident minister William Russel. 

Neither this name nor Paran is found in the associa- 
tion minutes of 1860. 

11. Mount Gilead was constituted with thirty-two 
members in 1835, through the labors of J. H. Schroebel 
of Claiborne church, who became the pastor. The 
membership of Elder Joseph Talbert was with this 
church in 1840. In this year both this church and 
Pigeon Creek were connected with the Bethlehem Asso- 
ciation. This church was at length disbanded and a new 
one bearing the same name was constituted in 1855. 

12. So far as appears, no new church was organized 
in the county for about seventeen years, but in 1852, so 
near as can be ascertained, was constituted the Rock- 
ville church. This in a few years, and after the death 
of Colonel Payne, went down.f 

* Here again, written by Holcombe in 1840, is the expression which I had 
thought no one had used before myself. T. U. B. 

+ lo79. A new church with the same name has this year been organized in 
the same neighborhood with a good prospect of maliing a vigorous growth. 



.62 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

13. In 1854, September 25tli, was constituted Mag- 
nolia chiircli at Jackson, by H. Creighton, N. Goodwin, 
and W. Hill. Delegates to the association in 1860 
were Setli J. Parker and Josiali Black well. For some 
years past this church seems to have nearly lost its 
visibility. 

14. October 22, 1854, was constituted by J. G. 
Williams and J. Reeves Forest Springs church. This 
church includes some members in Marengo county. 

15. In 1855, September 17th, was constituted byH. 
Creighton, John Talbert, and William Hill, the Amity 
church. This is a live church and vigorous. The pas- 
tor in 1860 was K. Goodwin. The present pastor is 
W. H. De Witt. 

16. In this same year of 1855, December 8th, was 
constituted by H. Creighton and W. Hill, the new 
Mount Gilead. Pastor in 1860 R. M. Thomas. Pastor 
in 1876 Bro. Whatley. Post otKce, Jackson. 

17. Hopewell was constituted April 18, 1857 by H. 
Creighton, L. L. De Witt, William Russell, and W. Hill. 
Pastor in 1860 L. L. De Witt, in 1877 M. F. Whatley. 

18. Satilpa was constituted about 1857. 

19. Pleasant Grove Octr. 17, 1858, by J. C. Foster 
and R. M. Thomas. Pastor in 1860 R. M. Thonnis ; 
in 1877 M. F. A¥hatley. 

20. July 2, 1859, Stave Creek by John Talbert, R. 
M. Thomas, and A. J. Stringer. J. Green pastor in 
1860; in 1877 R. J. W. De Witt. 

21. River Hill, about 1859. 

22. New Prospect, about 1860. 

23. Grove Hill church was constituted in June, 
1861, by John Talbert, W. Hill, and R. M. Thomas, 
with thirty-one members. Clerk, R. J. Woodard, Dea- 



RELIGIOUS HISTORY. 583 

cons, J. S. Dickinson, W. B. Gwynn, and James Clark. 
Pastor II. Adams. The eliurch has increased in num- 
bers, maintains a Sabbath School and prayer meetings, 
and has prospered. 

24. Mount Sinai, about 1862. 

25. County Line church dates 1869. The member- 
shi]) of this church was mostly in Clarke. In a few- 
years it was disbanded. The locality when constituted 
was in Wilcox. 

26. Independence, 1869. 

27. New Bassetts Creek, 1869. 

28. West Bend church was constituted in Decem- 
ber, 1871, by W. Jacob Parker and P. E. Kirven. 

29. Rocky Mount, about 1874. 

30. Peniel, 1876. 

31. New Liberty, 1877. 

Thirty Baptist churches, it thus appears, including 
County Line, within sixty years, have been organized 
in Clarke county, the first and oldest of these, LTlcanush, 
being still in existence. With the old Bassett's Creek 
church there have been thirty-one in all, since the first 
Baptist members settled between the rivers, about the 
year 1801. The Baptist and Methodist history of 
Clarke includes only the period of the nineteenth cen- 
tury, a century which has been chai'acterized by re- 
markable events in the religious world, a century in 
which Christians have taken up in earnest the work of 
evangelizing the world. 

The other churches of the association are, continuing 
the notation, 

32. Linden, constituted in June, 1820, by James 
Yarbrough; called Sardis church until 1836, planted 



584 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

mainly b}^ Dr. William Fluker wlio became tlie first 
pastor.* 

33. Mount Pleasant, planted, probably constituted, 
by James Yarbrough, in 1820. Beginning church life 
with twenty-sev^en members, in 1834 it numbered one 
hundred and fifty. Present number forty-six, L. L. 
Fox, pastor. 

34. Bethel was constituted in June 1821. It en- 
joyed for the first four years an almost continuous revi- 
val. For eighteen years the pastor of this church was 
"the venerable Solomon Perkins," by whose labors 
it was planted as well as watered. It now numbers 
forty-eight me^nbers, and has as its pastor the Rev. 
L. L. Fox. 

35. Friendship church was constituted in Decem- 
ber, 1822, by Elders Anderson, Perkins, and Crumpton 
or Compton. A revival commenced in 1827 which 
continued for four years. Jonathan Anderson and 
Truehart Tucker were the first two pastors. J. Reeves 
was pastor in 1860, and the delegates to the association 
for that year were R. Hickson, P. E. Kirven, and John 
Antrey. Post ofiice Clay Hill. 

36. Boiling Spring was constituted in 1825, by 
J. Anderson and S. Perkins. The first pastor was 
J. Anderson, and the second John Ellis who died in 
1830. 

37. In March, 1828, was constituted, on the west 
side of the Alabama, in Wilcox county, the church 
called Prairie Blufi:'. Here was the home of Elder 
John Ellis who became the pastor in 1829. 

38. In the same year of 1828 was constituted Beth- 

* Mrs. William Fluker, probably the widow of Dr. Fluker, "died at her resi- 
dence near Boiling Springs, Wilcox county," Aug. 10, 1879, being seventy-one 
years of age. 



RELIGIOUS HISTORY. 585 

lehem, having as pastors until 1840 Elders Fluker, 
Perkins, Baker, William Clark, and, probably, John 
Whitehead. Present pastor, J. G. McCaskey. 

39. Also in 1828 -was constituted Spring Hill by 
James Yarbrough and W. Fluker. The first pastor 
was James Yarbrough, who in 1840 was an aged man 
and was one of the earliest ministers in Marengo 
county. The second was John Collier, and the third 
was Edward Baptist, pastor in 1840. In 1860 the 
pastor was W. Jacob Parker. Pastor in 1877 L. L. Fox. 

40. Antioch was constituted in 1830. First pastor 
W. Clark, second, S. Perkins. 

41. Pisgah was constituted in 1831. First pastor 
S. Williams. In 1835 Salem, organized in 1834, was 
consolidated with Pisgah. 

42. Farewell was also organized in 1831. And 
about the same year, perhaps as early as 1829, was 
formed, 

43. Shiloh, " the fruits of a revival among the 
Methodists.'' This church was constituted, with seven 
members, by T. Tucker, S. Perkins, and J. Yarbrough. 
The present pastor is F. H. McGill, and the number of 
members one hundred and seven. 

44. Nanafalia was constituted April 3, 1831, with 
thirty members, by Joseph Williams and John G. 
Williams. It originated largely in the labors of 
Elder John G. Williams, whose home was in its bounds. 
In 1840 this was the largest church in Bethel Associa- 
tion, having at that time one hundred and fifty members. 
It had, then, four or five ministers in its membership, 
it carried on a prosperous Sunday school and a temper- 
ance society, and was in other respects an efiicient and 
prospering body. Elder J. G.Williams was for several 



586 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

years their pastor, but about 1840 they secured the 
labors of Elder William Dossey, paying him a salary 
of four hundred dollars for a year, which salary was 
for monthly visits and labors on Saturday and Sunday 
of each month. 

This seems to have been the iirst church in the asso- 
ciation which paid a living salary, or which engaged in 
temperance and Sunday school work. 

Elder H. Creighton was pastor of this church not 
long before his death. Pastor in 1860 J. C. Foster. 
Pastor in 1877 P. E. Kirven. 

45. Canaan, June 17, 1831, by J. Anderson and 
Truehart Tucker. Pastor in 1860 John Askew. 

46. Hebron, about 1832. Pastor in 1840 Levi 
Parks, in 1860 L. L. Fox. 

47. Union, February 10, 1839, by Stephen Will- 
iams and James Dupree. 

48. Enon, 1848, by A. Sale and L. L. DeWitt. 

49. Bethlehem, 1868. 50. Hills, 1869. 

51. Kehobeth, 1874. 52. Hoboken 1876. 53. Deep 
Creek, 1876. 

54. Cane Creek, about 1873. 

55. Bladon Springs. 56. Fellowship. 
57. Concord. 58. Dayton. 

59. Mount Sterling. 60. Providence. 

61. Little Zion. 62. Aim well. 

63. Goose Creek. 64. Lower Peach Tree. 

65. Liberty, by W. Irvins and B. W. Herrin. 

SOME FACTS RECAPITULATED. 

JosiAH Jones, who seems to have been at that time 
at the age of manhood, settled near Bassett's Creek in 
1S08. He found residing here at that date William 



KELIGIOUS HISTOKY. 587 

Cochran, a licensed preacher from the southern part of 
Georgia, who was then preaching in this part of the 
county, and who, so far as appears, was the next one 
who preached in these settlements after Lorenzo Dow, 
and whose name is here recorded as the lirst known 
Baptist minister of Clarke. He was probably the lirst 
minister ever ordained in the county. 

James Courtxey and Joseph McGee seem to come 
next in the order of time ; and soon the name appears 
of Lewis Spinks. 

It is difficult to determine the precise order in which 
should appear the names of the following brethren, but 
they may safely be placed between 1818 and 1830. 
Solomon Perkins, Truehart Tucker, J. Anderson, W. 
AVhatley, Hezekiah Bussey, James Yarbrough, and 
John Ellis. 

Rev. J. Ellis is the first minister who died in Clarke 
county, so far as record has been found. 

He came to Alabama in 1824. His home was at 
Prairie Bluff, in Wilcox county, on the west side of the 
Alabama river. It is recorded of him, "He was apt to 
teach, a loving husband, a kind father, a good master, 
obliging neighbor, benevolent to the poor. Gave his 
time, talent, and his all, to the glory of God and the 
spread of the Gospel.'" 

He died in Clarke county, while on a preaching 
tour, and distant about sixty miles from his familv and 
home, August 15, 1830. 

"Clear were his prospects of the promised land, 
Where in full view, he saw his Saviour stand; 
He on his everlastinir love relied, 
Sunk in his arms and in full glor}' died." 

In 1820 was organized the Bethel Association. 



588 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

There had been previously formed the Flint River 
Association in Tennessee, in 181-1, which met in 
Madison county in 1815, and was divided in 1822, 
and the Alabama part, containing only two or three 
churches in Tennessee, and retaining the old name, 
is therefore by some called the oldest association 
in Alabama; the Beckhee Association^ in 1816, its 
name having been changed to Bethlehem in 1827 ; the 
Cahaivha in October 1818, composed of ten churches ; 
the Alahamcc, in December 1819, of four churches, 
about two months after Alabama became a state ; and 
the Muscle Shoal Association, formed, with nine 
churches, July 15, 1820. 

The number of churches constituting the Bethel As- 
sociation cannot be here given. In 1831 the number 
of churches reported was twenty-one and of ministers 
nine. The membership was eight hundred and ninety- 
seven. In 1836 the number of churches was thirty-two 
and the membership was nine hundred and ninety-six. 
Several churches having been dismissed the number in 
1840 was only twenty-three. 

In 1860 the number of churches reported was thirty, 
the ordained ministers numbered thirty, and the mem- 
bership was in number nearly three thousand. 

The following list presents the names and post office 
address of the ministers in 1860. 

Levi Parks, Rehoboth ; Edward Baptist, Dayton ; 
A. A. Connella, Spring Hill ; W. J. Parker, Jefferson ; 
F. C. Lowry, McKinley ; John Talbert, McKinley ; 
J. Reeves, Liberty Hill ; X. Thomas, Pine Hill ; Will- 
iam Hill. Grove Hill ; X. Goodwin, Choctaw Corner ; 
William Russell, Coffeeville ; J. G. AVilliams, Nanafa- 
lia ; B. W. Herrin, Pineville ; J. C. Foster, Nanafalia ; 



RELIGIOUS HISTORY. 589 

L. L. Dewitt, Choctaw Corner ; R. Ilickson. Grove 
Hill ; A. Sale. Bethel ; H. Adams, Pine Hill ; J. 
(ireen, Sliiloh ; R. M. Thomas, Grove Hill; E. C. J. 
B. Thomas, McKinley ; A. J. Stringer, Jackson ; T. 
H. Ball, Coffeeville; J. A. M. Thompson, Bladon 
Springs ; C. J. Miles, Sweet Water ; S. Wright, Choc- 
taw Corner ; John Askew, Clifton ; P. E. Kervin, 
Clay Hill ; John J. Westbrook. JeflFerson ; J. M. 
Strong, Bladon Springs. 

Licentiates, — J. M. Stnbbs, Jackson; J. L. Kelly, 
Choctaw Corner. 

Executive Board, — JS'. Goodwin, Choctaw Cornei* ; 
Green E. Jones, Choctaw Corner ; Green Davis, Choc- 
taw Corner ; John Baggett, Choctaw Corner. 

Treasurer of the Association, — B. C. Foster, Choc- 
taw Corner, Alabama. 

Clerk of the Association, — R. D. Marshall, Sweet 
Water, Alabama. 

Funds were reported in 1860 for the following 
objects : Home Mission, Indian Mission, Foreign Mis- 
sion, Bethel Bible and Colporteur Society, Use of the 
Black Population, Also, Contingent Fund and Asso- 
ciation Fund. 

One thousand copies were printed of the minutes of 
1860. 

In 1 S6S the ordained ministers were, John Talbert, 
L. L. Fox, E. G. Baptist, W. H. Tucker, W. H. Camp- 
bell, G. W. Underwood, J. W. Smith, L. T. Daniel, 
H. Adams; and in Clarke county, L. L. Dewitt, C. J. 
Miles, P. E. Kirven, J. 0. Foster, W. Jacob Parker, 
post office then Choctaw Corner; R. Hickson, R. M. 
Thomas, W. Hill, post office. Grove Hill ; X. C. Booth, 
post office, Suggsville; and X. Thomas, J. G. McCas- 



590 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

key, A. Stringer; also Jackson Daffin, Licentiate, 
post office, Jackson. 

In 1868 the whole number of churches belonging to 
the association was fifty. Twenty-seven of these were 
that year reported, among these Magnolia and Mt. 
Sinai; and twenty-three were not reported. "Many 
delegates were unable to attend in consequence of high 
water." This year was marked by the death of Elder 
John Talbert, the moderator of the association, who 
retired from the closing session, in much physical 
feebleness, to the home of D. B. Jackson, near Linden, 
and five days afterwards died, Oct. 10, 1868. 

In 1877 forty churches were reported, with a mem- 
bership of only twenty-three hundred and seventeen. 
The colored members at this time had all withdrawn 
and formed separate churches and associations. Pas- 
tors, in 1877, are, L. L. Fox, J. G. McCaskey, W. B. 
Crumpton, F. H. McGill, P. E. Kirven, L. T. Daniel, 
]^. Thomas, James Everett, H. Adams, J. H. Fendley, 
P. E. Pastor, C. J. Miles, William Campbell, W. H. 
Dewitt, M. F. Whatley, A. J. Stringer, R. J. W. 
Dewitt, William Llill. Eighteen there are now in all. 
Some of these are pastors of four churches, some of 
three, some of two, and some of only one. 

The Bethel Association began, very early in its his- 
tory, to take an interest in missionary eftorts, in Bible 
society operations, in domestic missions; and at length 
in Sabbath schools, in the temperance movement, in 
ministerial education, in instructing and aiding the col- 
ored people, and in every "good word and work." 

This association comprises the churches between the 
rivers, in Clarke, in Marengo, and in the western part 
of Wilcox. 



RELIGIOUS HISTORY. 591 

The cliiirelies comprising tliis association are what 
may well be called sound and true in their denomina- 
tional views. 

From the minutes of 1S6S the following brief state- 
ment of views is taken: "we believe the Churches of 
Christ to be composed of such persons as have been 
born of the 'incorruptible word of God. that liveth and 
abideth forever,' and have been immersed in water bv 
a qualified minister of the gospel, on a personal profes- 
sion of faith."" They belong to that school or division 
of the great Baptist family holding to what is known in 
the South as "landmark'' practice. This latter prac- 
tice has been prevailing among tliem for about twenty 
years. 

In 1868 the Bethel Association adopted the follow- 
ing report on the religious instruction of the colored 
people: 

"Your Committee, to whom was referred the subject 
of the religious instruction of the colored people, beg 
leave to present the following: 

We are of opinion that a large majority of the 
colored people do not really desire the instruction of 
any white man; and we are equally as strongly im- 
pressed with the opinion that the cause of this indispo- 
sition or opposition to receiving such instruction is a 
manifestation of their great need of such instruction, 
and furnishes a strong reason why it should be given 
whenever any number of them can be prevailed upon to 
hear. The want of information is the ground of the 
opposition. They are a lamentably ignorant people — 
so ignorant indeed as not even to know the value of 
proper instruction. He who has never drank at the 
fountain of knowledge has no desire to drink there. 
But this indisposition on their part will be no vindica- 
tion of our conduct, if we relax our efforts on that 
account to impart to them a knowledge of the gospel of 



592 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Christ. When Paul and his co-hiborers preached the 
gospel to the heathen, and they were indisposed to 
hear, and even persecuted them, they did not relax their 
eftbrts, and leave them to live and die in ignorance; but 
they labored on, until, under the blessings of God, won- 
ders were wrought in reforming the world. And all 
the blessings of the glorious gospel of the blessed God 
enjoyed bv us to-day are the results of the persevering- 
labors of these holy men of God. This noble Christian 
example is worthy of our emulation and imitation. 
' Let us not be weary ' in this important work: ' for we 
shall reap, if we faint not.' 

The colored man is ignorant, but this ignorance is 
not so much a fault as a misfortune — and while this igno- 
rance is the great difficulty in the way of instructing 
him, yet instruction is the only thing that can remove 
it. As light is poured into the mind, ignorance will be 
dispelled, and the difficulty will be finally removed. Let 
every minister and intelligent layman do his whoie duty 
in this matter, and we shall see good results in the end 
of our labors. But the colored man is not only igno- 
rant, but he is superstitious and fanatical. The last 
traits of character are only the legitimate fruits of his 
ignorance. All ignorant people are superstitious and 
fanatical. Instruct them, and these evils will, to say 
the least, be modified. 

And while we recognize the commission of the Lord 
Jesus to be as wide as the w(~)rld, and would not utter 
a word against sending the gospel to the far off heathen, 
but rather urge it as a duty, yet we are of opinion 
that our first duty is to give religious instruction to the 
ignorant and destitute at our doors and in our employ, 
and among whom we and our children are doomed to 
live and die. 

Respectfully submitted, Committee.'' 

In 1869 the following was adopted: 

''The committee to whom the letter from the Mount 
Zion Colored Baptist Church was referred reported as 
follows, viz : 



RELIGIOUS HISTORY. 593 

Your committee would suggest the following line of 
conduct for the guidance of our colored bretlieru. 

1st. To take Clod's word as their only guide in mat- 
ters of faith and practice. 

2d. That they discountenance all self-constituted 
preachers who in their ignorance set aside God's word 
and clayn \^ have personal interviews with God and 
receive personal instructions from Him in reference to 
their duty. 

3d. To encourage all good and pious brethren, capa- 
ble of reading and explaining the word of God, to enter 
as far as practicable upon the duties of reading and ex- 
plaining the word. 

4rth. In the selection of pastors or supplies, either 
white or colored, to select only such as have proven 
themselves to be deeply pious, and qualified to expound 
the Gospel to the edification of the people. 

5th. As early as practicable to form their churches 
into Associations for mutual advice and encouragement 
in the furtherance of the Gospel." 

In 1872 the following record is found: 

•'Letters were received from two colored Churches 
called Mt. Zion, and one named Bethlehem, asking to 
be recognized by this body, through their white pastor, 
J. Daffin, and asking for as many copies of the minutes 
of this body as their funds sent up will pay for. Their 
request was granted, and Brotlier Daffin invited to a 
seat among us. 

The clerk offered the fidlowing, which was con- 
curred in: 

Resolved^ That while we will in no case admit colored 
Churches as constituent members of this body, yet we 
will impart any information to our colored brethren, 
through their white representatives, that we can, and 
furnish them with our minutes when desired by them. 

DATE OF DEATH OF BAPTIST MINISTERS. 

Willis Whatley, in Monroe county, 1829 ; John El- 
38 



594 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUISTDINGS. 

lis, in Clarke county, 1830 ; Joseph Talbert, 1840 ; 

William Hill, 1851 ; Joseph Williams ; Hiram 

Creighton, 1859 ; William Paissell, 1860 ; N. Booth 

; S. Wright, 1861 ; IS". Goodwin, 1862 ; L. L. 

Dewitt, 1871 ; Keuben Hickson, 1873 ; E. M. Thomas, 
W. J. Parker, 1874. ^ . 

MEMORIALS AXD SKETCH P:S. 

Elder John G. Williams was born in South Caro- 
lina, in 1787, in Edgefield district, and was there mar- 
ried in 1818, when thirty-one years of age, to Miss 
Emma Bracey. Soon after his marriage he became a 
member of a Baptist church, and in a short time began 
to preach. He removed to Marengo county, near 
ISTanafalia about 1824, where he spent the remainder 
of his life, often making pastoral visits in Clarke 
county. Mrs. Williams had twelve children. She 
died August 2, 1854. Brother Williams afterwards 
married Miss Goodloe, a native of Virginia, who bore 
two children. Of the fourteen children of this house- 
hold only four are now living. 

Elder Williams was pastor of the Ulconush church, 
near Coffeeville, for some twelve years. It contained 
few members when his pastoral labors commenced, and 
two hundred and eighty before he died. Without 
much of the learning acquired from books and schools, 
he was an excellent pastor, a man of refined feeling, 
dignified and courteous, kind and conciliatory, main- 
taining with honor his position as a Christian pastor. 
He was well situated in regard to a home and comforts 
around him, and did not need any support from the 
churches. 

He accidentally fell and was seriously injured and 
died April 26, ISOl, being seventy-four years of age. 



RELIGIOUS HISTORY. 595 

KLUEK JOHN MCVVILLIAMS. 

Brotlier J. McWilliams was born in Orangeburg 
district, South Carolina, January 30, 1804. In 1816 
he became a resident of Monroe county, and in 1837 
became a member of the Zion Baptist church, whicii 
was constituted in 1824. In 1831 he was licensed to 
preach the Gospel, and in February 1832 he was or- 
^dained. In May, 1832, he became pastor of the Zion 
chui'ch and has continued to be the pastor ever since. 
He has baptized at that church two hundred and twen- 
ty-two. His brother, Wootan D. McWilliams, is the 
clerk of the same church, and has held that office for 
thirty-six years. In October, 1874, these brothers 
visited their sisters and brothers in Kemper county, 
Mississippi. In all they are eight in number, and they 
all dined one day at one brother's table. The average 
age of the eight wanted but a few days of being seventy 
years. The youngest brother had the whitest head. 
They are all, and have been for many years, members 
of Baptist churches. They are surely a remarkable 
family. Elder Miles McWilliams of Wilcox county, a 
Baptist minister who died not long ago, was a cousin of 
these brothers who reside in Monroe. The Zion church 
is certainly composed of an uncommon membership 
and has been blessed with a remarkable pastor.* 

The following was written by Elder Jr)i[N Talbert :, 

inooRApnY or elder n. ceeighton. 

''He was born in the month of September, in the 
year 1795. in the State of South Carolina. He was 
brought up by a mother who was a member of the 

* Xov. I87'.t. The fi'.'lit ineiitionc'd at)ove arc still all livinj; and tin- pastoral 
relation is unfhaiigod. Aug. 1882. Moro than tifiy ycar^ have now passed awav 
fince the youthful pastor was called to the charLte of Zion cliurch. 



596 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Presbyterian order, who wus strictly pious, and trained 
lior cliildren to observe the duties of religion and 
morality according to the rules of the Presbyterian 
Church. Moved to Alabama and settled on Bas- 
sett's Creek, in Clarke County, in the year 1818; 
soon afterwards he was married to Miss Mary Thomas, 
TFe was well settled in the doctrines and ordinances, as 
held by the Presbyterians. * * '"'■ In the year 
1825, by reading and studying the Scri])tures for liinL- 
self, he became fully satisfied that believers baptism 
alone was supported by the Word of God ; and that 
the action of baptism was a burial in water. Accord- 
ing to the example of our Saviour, and in consequence 
of this change being wrought in his mind, he united 
with the Iloreb Ba])tist (church, Clarke (bounty, in the 
year 1827. Having impressions to exhort his fellow sin- 
ners to repent, he commenced exercising in that way. 
The Church, believing him to possess a gift suitable to 
the work, licensed him to preach in the year 1833 ; 
when he immediately engaged in the active duties of 
the ministry, labored with great zeal and was abun- 
dantly blessed in his elforts. 

On the 23d of November, 1834, he was ordained by 
Elders Ilezckiah Bussey and George D. Williams, and 
was immediately called to the care of Iloreb Church. 
* * ^' In the course of the twenty-four years in 
which he was engaged in supplying churches, he 
served the following in capacity of pastor : New 
Hope, Salem, Pigeon (]reck, Bassett's Creek, Pai'an, 
Ebenezer, Mount Gilead and Rockville. In all these 
pastoral relations the churches were satisfied with 
his labors in doctrine, church discipline, and his strict 
attention to the duties of the ministry in filling promptly 
all his engagements ; and in every instance his connec- 
tion with the churches was only dissolved by an ex- 
pressed wish of his own to be released. lie also spent 
much time in visiting destitute places, at some of which 
he would have monthly appointments, * * * He 
wae loved and respected by all denominations of chris- 



RELIGIOUS HISTORY. 597 

tians, though was never known to make any compro- 
mise of his conviction of truth ; and the love and 
respect which he received from other denominations 
was based on their confidence in his faitlifulness and 
liis respect for their feelings and opinions. He did 
not travel so extensively as many others in the min- 
istry, but his labors were abnndantly blessed." 

OBITUARY OF KLUKR JOHN TALBER'f, bv ELDER W. .1. 
PARKER. 

" Our Moderator is no more. 

Elder John Talbert met with the Bethel Association 
on Saturday, October 3d, 1868, and was unanimously 
chosen Moderator, but in consequence of extreme feeble- 
)iess, he was unable to preside, except half the day on 
Monday. He remained with the body, however, until 
its close in the afternoon of that day, and received the 
parting hand from all the delegates, who seemed im- 
pressed with the feelings that they would see his face 
no more. Brother Talbert retired from the church to 
Brother D. B. Jackson's, where he lingered until Sat- 
urday, the 10th, when he gently fell asleep in the arms 
of that Jesus whom he had so faithfully preached for 
more than thirty years. 

It was my pleasure to become accjuainted with 
Brother Talbert twenty-three years ago, as an earnest 
and untiring evangelist, whose entire energies were 
consecrated to the promotion of God's glory in the sal- 
vation of sinners. And, while many good brethren 
who have gone to their reward did much in building up 
the churches of the Bethel Association, Brother Talbert, 
with very limited educational advantages, by close ap- 
plication to the study of the Word of God, joined with 
an ardent desire for the salvation of perishing sinners 
— went everywhere preaching TJte Word — became a 
sound theologian, a g<jod expositor of- the Word, and 
did more by his unceasing labors of love to establish 
our churches in the faith once delivered to the saints, 
than any other minister, perhaps, that ever labored 



598 CLARKE AND ITS SUKROUNDINGS. 

within tlie limits of the Bethel Association ; and his 
memory will be warmly cherished in the heart- of the 
membership of our churches until his generation passes 
away. 

May his mantle of love and self-sacrilicing labors fall 
upon our rising ministry, prompting them to ' study to 
show themselves approved unto God, rightly dividing 
the word of truth.' " 

BY ELDER P. E. KIRVEN. 

"Died, at his residence, on 20th of March last, near 
Grove Hill, Clarke county, Alabama, in the 5Tth year 
of his age, Elder W. Jacob Parker, who, for a quarter 
of a century, has been engaged with all the energies of 
a strong and cultivated mind and devoted heart, to the 
gospel ministry ; and for twenty years of that time within 
the bounds of this Assoc'ation ; and as a bold, fearless 
, advocate of our distinctive doctrines ; and as a logical 
reasoner, he was without a superior in our pulpit ; and 
as a faithful and useful minister of Jesus Christ, 
this Association has never sustained a greater loss. 

A few extracts from his autobiography will be of in- 
terest. 

He was born December 13th, 1818. near Milledge- 
ville, Georgia ; professed faith in Christ, December, 
1836, in Montgomery county, Alabama; was baptized 
by Elder John Robinson, near Orin, Pike county, Ala- 
bama, fourth Sabbath in February, 1837 ; was licensed 
to preach by Concord Church, Choctaw county, Ala- 
bama, June, 1847 ; and ordained by order of same 
church June, 1849, and entered at once upon the active 
duties of the ministry. 

He was called to the care of the Fellowship Church, 
Marengo county, 1852 ; since which time his labors, as 
a minister, have been given principally to this Associa- 
tion, in the bounds of which he has lived since 1851 ; 
first at Jeflerson, Marengo county, until the winter of 
1868, when he removed to Choctaw Corner, Cl'arke 



RELIGIOUS HISTORY. r)99 

county ; where lie remained until 1872, when he again 
moved to Grove Hill, Clarke count v. 

During this period he served annually tVom three to 
four churches in this and adjoining Associations — prin- 
cipall}^ in this- -with a ' degree of zeal, energy and 
efficiency excelled by none, and equalled by but few ; 
riding frequently fifty miles to meet his appointments ; 
and baptizing in the time over 600 persons. He was a 
self-educated man ; a life-long student, and one of no 
mean attainments. He possessed a fine memory ; was 
a close and independent thinker; a bold and logical 
reasoner. He was devoted to the doctrines of the 
Church of Christ, and that, too, because he believed 
them to be the truth. He was thought, by some, to be 
rigid in his doctrinal views. He was an uncompromis- 
ing adherent to what he believed to be Bible truth, and 
most decided and opposed to religious error. It was 
his conscientious regard for the truth, as taught in the 
scriptures, that made him so, for a kinder and more af- 
fectionate nature the writer never knew. 

He possessed, in no small degree, the spirit of his 
master. It was principles he fought and not men. In 
liim was beautifully blended the spirit of the lion and 
the lamb. ^Yhile he assailed error with the courage of 
the lion, he could feel toward the errorist the gentleness 
of the lamb." 

Elder P. E. Kirven was born in South Carolina in 
February, 1826. His father was a Baptist minister 
and his mother was a zealous friend of missions in the 
early days of the labors of Judson and Rice. That he 
should be a zealous advocate of Sunday School and 
missionary operations is very natural from such a 
parentage. 

When ten years of age, in 1836, P. E. Kirven be- 
came a resident of Dallas county. He married in 
1854, in Clarke county, a daughter of Colonel Brod- 
nax, and resided in the countv some two or three 



600 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

years. He afterward settled in ■Nfarengo, and in" 1859 
commenced preaching. Brother Kirven lias labored 
faithfully in Marengo and Clarke as pastor, and as mis- 
sionary for the Association ; and is an earnest, devoted, 
practical, intelligent preacher ; a man of brotherly and 
loving disposition ; a leading spirit in the Bethel Asso- 
ciation. He has a growing intellect and heart, and is 
capable of .taking large and liberal views.* 

Elder L. L. De Witt was for many years pastor of 
Salem Church. He had twenty children. Thirteen of 
these, seven daughters and six sons, are now living. 
Five of the daughters are married. He was an active 
and useful minister, but was obliged to give some 
attention to gaining means for the support of a large 
family. He died in 1871. One son, W. H. De Witt, 
is now an active and leading pastor in the association, a 
man of exemplary, fervent piety. He has quite a large 
family of interesting children growing up in his home, 
requiring a father's care, as the churches to whom he 
ministers require a pastor's care. Well ought the 
churches of Bethel Association to appreciate the self- 
denials required from their pastors, who maintain 
large households on scanty salaries and devote their 
own time to the Gospel ministry. A cousin of the 
above named pastor, R. J. De Witt, resides at Stave 
Creek, of which church, and of some others he is pas- 
tor. He is a young and promising minister. 

Elder M. F. Whatley was born near the "Holy 
Ground" in 1819. He is of Huguenot descent in one 
maternal line, the Huguenot name having unfortunately 
been lost. He came to Clarke after the close of the 
civil war. His grandfather was a brother of Elder W. 

* 1882. Now a pastor in Texas. 



RELIGIOUS HISTORY. 601 

Whatley. Pie has been, in Clarke, a successful pastor. 
He has a good plantation on Tattilaba Creek. The 
River Road from Jackson to Coffeeville, running near, 
passes over table lands or ridges and conducts the trav- 
eller through a fine part of the county. It is about 
three miles from the river and passes near several 
settlements. Elder Whatley has one son Dr. Horace 
E. Whatley, who resides at home with his father, and 
besides him he has " neither son nor daughter." (1877.) 
Elder C. J. Miles is a native of Alabama, but spent 
a few years of life in Mississippi, where he was licensed 
to preach in 1851. He was ordained at Liberty church 
in Marengo county. He commenced preaching in 
Clarke and Marengo in 1855. His work is another 
example of a toilsome, self-denying life. For ten years 
he was missionary of Bethel Association, was appoint- 
ed in 1862, and continued in service through the years 
of the war. He constituted the churches of River Hill, 
Satilpa, and New Prospect. His remuneration for 
labors, so far as a salarj^ was concerned, was one dollar 
per day while in active service. (The contrast is great 
between such a pittance and the many thousands paid 
as salaries to some of the city pastors. Perhaps the 
work of evangelization needs some re-adjusting. ) Broth- 
er Miles was afterward colporteur for Bethel Associa- 
tion, distributing the publications of the South-western 
Publication Society at Memphis, and organizing and 
sustaining Sunday-schools. His labors were mostly m 
Clarke county. His salary now was one dollar and a 
half per day. He has baptized quite a number in his 
field of labor and has organized several Sunday-schools. 
He is (1877) resident pastor of Deep Creek churcli, 
organized in 1876, which church has services everv 



602 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Sabbath, a prosperous Sunday-school and prayer-meet- 
ing. 

Elder J. li. Fendley, resident pastor at the new 
Bassett's Creek church, also pastor at Elani, is one of 
the trulj live, earnest, original, growing pastoi's of 
Bethel Association. His home is a few miles north 
from Grove Hill, in the north-east corner of township 
nine, where he has some of the rich Bassett Creek bot- 
tom lands, and a plantation home, with sons and 
daughters around his table. He is as yet young, gaining 
each year in knowledge and experience, and promises 
to be a very useful, successful pastor. 

Elder L. T. Daniel, pastor in 1876 of ISTew Hope 
churcli at Choctaw Corner, now pastor of New Liberty 
and Ainiwell churches, has seen a number of years of 
active service in the ministry. His labors in this asso- 
ciation date back of 1868. An earnest, thoughtful, 
pious man, he knows, like many others, the meaning 
of self-denial, of "weariness and painfulness," of toil 
not largely requited. 

The Liberty Baptist Association was organized in 
1S36. It is composed of churches in Choctaw and 
Washington counties, and of churches in Clarke, Lau- 
derdale, and Wayne counties, Mississippi. At present, 
in Washington three churches, in Choctaw thirteen, 
and in Mississippi fourteen churches, compose this 
body. Ordained ministers ten and licentiates seven. 

The Bigbee Baptist Association was formed in 1851. 
It is composed of churches (four) in Choctaw, in Mar- 
engo (two), and in Greene and Samter counties; in all 
twenty-five. 
"vRev. J. D. Cook, the Baptist pastor in Choctaw 



RELiaiOUS HISTORY. 603 

county, resides at Pusliinatalia.'^ He is comparatively 
young, and a growing, promising minister, very soci- 
able and pleasant as an acquaintance and friend. His 
wife is a young and very lovely woman. The village 
of Pusliuiatalia, named after the noted Choctaw chief, 
now .contains about a dozen families. 

An academy was founded there and quite a building- 
erected for the teachers and pu])ils about 1856. This 
succeeded well for a time. 

Rev. S. O. Y. Ray, formerly in this association has 
removed into the bounds of Liberty. 

III. presbytp:ria:n^s and primitive baptists. 

The Methodists and Missionary Baptists are the 
principal denominations of South Alabama, yet there 
are other smaller bodies- of evangelical Christians. 
*'The Presbytery of South Alabama'' reports to the 
General Assembly twenty ministers and tifty-two 
churches. Of these churches one is at Jackson, com- 
municants tv/elve, no resident pastor; one at Claiborne, 
communicants ten ; one at Bladon Springs, communi- 
cants twenty-live ; one at Monroeville, communicants 
twenty-eight ; and one at or near Lower Peach Tree, 
communicants twenty -five. In Marengo county there 
are eight or nine small churches, two of them with four 
communicants each. The church .at Nanafalia numbers 
forty-nine. 

In Mobile are three quite strong churches with a 
total membership of six hundred and eighty-one. The 
fifty-two churches of the Presbytery average fifty mem- 
bers eacli.t- 

* In 1880 Clerk of the Association for six years. 
+ Minutes of the Presbytery of South Alabama. 



604 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

The Primitive Baptists, known as anti mission, are 
quite few in Clarke county. Their locality is mainly 
between Grove Hill and Jackson. They object to 
Sunday-school, to missionary, and to benevolent opera- 
tions. No statistics concerning them is at hand. 

IV. SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 

The Suggsville Sabbath-school banner bears the 
date 1823, as the time of the organization of that 
school. 

In unite early times there was a cluirch south of 
Suggsville and a campmeeting was held there. There 
was another old church building south-west of Suggs- 
ville on section twenty-four, range three east, township 
seven. This was built of cedar logs about the year 
1820. And about 1823 Samuel Oliver, an Irish set- 
tler with a large family, commenced a Sabbath-school 
in the neighborhood of Suggsville. Some of his family 
also opened a school for colored children ; but the latter 
was soon broken up by some of the young men. The 
school for white children was not kept up by the Oliver 
family very long. When a school was again opened, 
and when the proper Suggsville Methodist church 
school began, cannot probably now be determined. 
Sunday-school work dates, for Suggsville, from 1823, 
but whether this should be called the date for the pres- 
ent school is questionable. Here was no doubt a 
beginning of Clarke county Sunday-schools, but for 
many years they were in this county few in number. 

Among earlier Sunday-school workers at Suggsville 
may be named Dr. Rivers and S. Coale. 

Belonging fully to the religious history and life of 
Grove Hill, is the organization known as the Grove 



RELIGIOUS HISTORY. 605 

Hill Sunday School. It was commenced by the 
principal of the Grove Hill Academy, in the fall of 
1851, with a class of tiv^e boys and one young man, a 
mail carrier. The citizens offered at first very little 
encouragement. Some said it would be impossible to 
make a Sabbath School live. But the teaclier of the 
school was not easily discouraged. He believed it 
to be desirable and right to have such a school, and ac- 
cordingly put his intellect and heart into that work. It 
succeeded beyond any one's expectation; and certainly 
became the religious institution of the town. It was a 
union, not a denominational school. Soon the little girls 
came; the large girls came; the young men came; the 
fathers and mothers came ; nearly all the citizens 
attended the Sabbath school. Visitors stopping in the 
town, on Sabbath morning visited the school. 

The Superintendent was accustomed at the close of 
the exercises by the classes, to give a short lecture each 
Sabbath. In looking for a little stray poem, two files 
of these lectures have just been reached; the one series 
consisting of nineteen, and the other series of nine lee 
tures. These were written out carefully on Saturdays 
and delivered the succeeding mornings from memory. 
The titles of the first series are here given: 

The Existence of God; Claims of the Bible; Im- 
mortality of the Spirit; The Spirit World; True Relig- 
ion; Attributes, —Omniscience, Omnipotence, Omnipres- 
ence; Attributes, — Truth, Justice, Goodness, Mercy; 
Patriarchal Dispensation; Jewish Dispensation, His- 
tory; Jewish Dispensation, Laws, Customs, Peculiari- 
ties; The Christian Dispensation, Historical; Necessity 
of a Saviour; The Priesthood of Christ; Faith in Clirist 
essential to salvation; Grandeur of tJie Christian Con- 



606 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

test; Office of the Holy Spirit; Prayfer; Praise; Divine 
Providence. 

In the month of May, each year, this school held 
anniversary exercises and had a public dinner. These 
anniversaries were largely attended and were consider- 
ed interesting and profitable. 

It surely does not become the writer to say much 
concerning his Sabbath school work in Clarke; but he 
may be allowed to express his belief that the disclosures 
of the Great Future will show some lasting good accom- 
plished, both at Grove Hill and at West Bend, through 
the instrumentality of that Sabbath school instruction. 
Many of those who attended so faithfully and zealously 
in 1852, at Grove Hill, found an end to the probation 
of earth amid the fearful desolation of the Yellow Fever 
in the fall of 1853; and among these were the beautiful 
Martha and her sister Mary Savage, whose names will 
be found in one of the Obituary Notices of a later 
chapter. 

Amid all the changes of the changing and eventful 
years, since 1851, the Grove Hill Sabbath School has 
lived on, and still lives. Removed from the Academy 
building to the new church, long may it continue to be 
a Sabbath gathering where the young will learn the 
imperishable truths of the Sacred Scriptures. 

About the same time, 1850 or 1851, a Sabbath school 
was opened by Elder H. Creighton at a school house 
on the Claiborne road, about four miles from Grove 
Hill. The charge of this school was assigned to C. 
Moncrief, but it was sometimes carried on only by the 
younger members of the Creighton family and the 
young people of the neighborhood. 



RELIGIOUS HISTORY. 607 

These must huve been among the earliest Baptist 
Sunday scliools in tlie county. 

One by one others were organized. 

An associational report for 1869 says: 

"Your committee are pleased to learn that the 
subject of Sabbath Scliool instruction is claiming and 
receiving increased interest and attention among our 
churches, in many of which regular Sabbath instructions 
are given winter and summer; yet we feel assured that 
not a tithe of that interest is felt by our dear brethren 
on this subject that its importance demands.*" 

There was organized, it would seem in 1870, the 
Bethel Baptist Sabbath School Convention, which held 
its second anniversary at Grove Hill in September, 
1872. The following Sabbath Schools were represented: 
Xew Hope, Liberty, Moncrief School House, Grove 
Hill, Forest Springs, and Horeb. 

W. Jacob Parker was elected President and J, H. 
Creighton Secretary. The sessions continued for four 
days. The ''Report" states, "that, since the organiza- 
tion of the Sabbath School Convention, the interest in 
Sabbath Schools has greatly increased, and much good 
has been accomplished, and the Churches seem to be 
waking up to the importance of Sabbath Schools.'' 

The interest in this department of Christian eft'ort 
has continued to increase. Some of the prominent and 
active Sabbath Scliool workers of the county are Judge 
Woodard and James W. Dickinson of Grove Hill, 
James H. Creighton, and Mrs. E. H. Woodard. The 
Grove Hill Sabbath School, organzied, as has been said, 
in 1851, was kept up for many years through the labors 
of the Woodard family and a few connected with them. 
Judge Woodard has probably tilled the office of Super- 



608 CLARKE AISTD ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

intendent for more years than any other person in tlie 
county. Yery fittingly now is lie Superintendent of 
Public Instruction for the county. 

Some account has now been given of the rise and 
growth of classes and churches from the visit of Lorenzo 
Dow in 1803 until the year of 1<S77. The names of 
most of the Methodist and Baptist ministers have been 
recorded, and some reference has been made to the 
Sabbath school work. But there are other particulars, 
and those, too, of no small importance, which cannot 
well be inserted here. Who can tell how many hun- 
dreds have in these seventy-five years, at the religious 
meetings and at their homes, pondered that great ques- 
tion asked in old Philippi, "What must I do to be 
saved ? " Or who can tell how many through public 
and private teaching have apprehended the conditions 
connected with that rich grant of wondrous love com- 
prised in the term "eternal life " ? Who can count up 
the tears of penitence ? or who can measure the emo- 
Q tions of spiritual joy ^ Who knows how many have been 
prepared here as living stones for the great spiritual 
temple ? Who knows how many have gone home to 
Paradise, having learned the way thither through the 
preaching of the word ? Surely there are those con- 
nected with every class and every church that could 
name time after time when they were ready to sing 
" Here PU raise my ebenezer ; " that could record gra- 
cious answers to fervent prayer. Some choice spirits 
have here passed through precious experiences ; many 
young hearts have here learned to love Him who is 
altogether lovely ; many have found that, beyond all 
the fascinations and charms of the earthly life, brighter 
and better than all else, there was glowing the pure 



RELIGIOUS HISTORY. 609 

light of the pearl of ])rice. All these experiences and 
this unwritten soul history must be left for the unfold- 
ing of the ETERNAL DAY. 

" Soon where earthly beauty blinds not, 
No excess of brilliance palls, 

Salem, city of the holy, 
We shall be within thy walls ! 
There, beside yon crystal river, 
There, beneath life's wondrous tree. 
There, with naught to cloud or sever, 
Ever with the Lamb to be I 

Heir of glory, 
That shall be for thee and me." 

And amid the beauties of that fair world, and within 
the secure walls of the holy city, we may review the soul 
experiences that belonged to time. 

And among these heralds that have gone to rest 
some would doubtless have said : 

" Not myself, but the truth that in life I have spoker 
Not myself, but the seed that in life I have sown. 
Shall pass on to ages — all about me forgotten. 
Save the truth I have spoken, the things I have done." 

The religious interest in Washington county seems 
to be very different from the interest in Clarke. In the 
southern part of the county are some Spanish Creole 
inhabitants, also some French residents. A Roman 
Catholic cathedral is near the old ferry road north of 
Mount Vernon, at Chestang Bluif. A Methodist chapel 
stands near the spot of Burr's arrest. A few other 
chapels are in the county. A ridge of land extends 
southward from the ferry, by Mount Yernon, on the 
way to Mobile. Parts of this county are missionary 
ground, requiring earnest, self-denying labors, in order 
that Sunday schools and churches may tlourish here. 



610 CLARKE a:nd its surroundestgs. 

lY. THE S(11JTHWESTERN MUSICAL CONVENTION. 

Marking the progress of the present time, behjnging 
especially to the region of which this history treats, is 
the organization above named. 

Organized in the county of Clarke, it extends out- 
ward into the surrounding counties. The following 
"Preamble" will show its nature." 

" We, ' the Vocalists of Southwestern Alabama, in 
,pursuance of certain resolutions entered into in the year 
18Y0, declaring it to be the duty of the Southwestern 
Alabama Vocalists to organize themselves into a body 
whereby they will be enabled to protect the purity of 
Sacred Music from the invasion of immoral men, as 
well as those who are incompetent to discharge the du- 
ties which devolve upon a Teacher of Sacred Music; 
therefore, our object in forming such an Association as 
an Association of Musicians is for the purpose of reno- 
vating, improving, and systematizing our Southern 
Church Music. 

It is certainl}^ an evident fact that Sacred Music is 
essential to the prosperity of every Church, and is not 
only important for the influence it exerts over the exis- 
tence of churches, but it is a medium through which 
the purifying influence of God's regenerating Grace 
may, does, and has passed to the human heart — hence 
we have no hesitancy in sa^ang that Sacred Music had 
a Divine origin ; and, such being the case, it must be 
one among the highest of human attainments, and is 
worthy of our best efl'orts for its advancement. 

From these considerations, we, by mutual consent, 
do agree to organize ourselves into a body which shall 
have certain rules and regulations, and to be known as 
the Southwestern Musical Convention of the State 
OF Alabama, whose laws and regulations we pledge 
ourselves to maintain and abide by between one 
another." 

The organization seems to have been perfected in 



RELI0IOUS HISTORY. 611 

1871. A Constitution, luiving fiv^e articles, was 
adopted, and annual sessions hav^e since been held. 
According to Article I, tlie Convention is composed of 
Music Teachers, Leaders and Delegates from each 
School. Society, or Choir, that has for its superinten- 
dent a member of the Convention, together with all 
others who subsci'ibe to and obey its rules and regula- 
tions. 

Places of annual sessions : In 1871 at Union church, 
in 1872 at Choctaw Corner, in 1873 at Horeb, in 1874, 
Sept. 18, 19, 20, at Union, in 1875 at Elam, in 1876 at 
Choctaw Corner, in 1877 at Mt. Gilead. 

The teachers and leaders of 1874 were, H. T. Whee- 
less, President; W. B. Woods, John Pope, A. J. Rob- 
erts, Z. D. Lavender, P. Y. James, J. P. Booth, John 
Wilson, E. Chapman, W. T. Benson, and C. C. Mc- 
Mullin. Sessions of the auxiliaries of this organiza- 
tion are once in three months, three times in the year, 
the fourth quarterly uniting with the annual meeting. 

The territory of the Convention is divided into two 
districts, in each of which three auxiliary meetings ai'e 
held annuallv. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE COLORED PEOPLE. 

IMPERFECT would be this history of the growth 
and prosperity of this portion of the pine belt, 
without some notice of the colored people^ once slaves 
and now free. 

It is well known that African slavery was introduced 
into the Virginia colony as early as 1620, perhaps in 
1619. The Dutch, the English, and other nations, en- 
gaged in the slave trade, employing a large number of 
ships and men, enriching themselves by the tratfic, and 
placing thousands of native Africans upon the West 
India islands, and along the Atlantic seaboard of ISTorth 
America from Florida to New England. As early as 
1563 Captain Hawkins brought three hundred natives 
from Africa and sold them to the Spaniards in His- 
paniola for slaves. The first slave importers into 
America were Englishmen ; the first importers into the 
English colonies of America were the Dutch. 

Into New England slaves were imported from the 
West Indies. The Greorgia colony Trustees endeavored 
for twenty years, from 1732 till 1752, to secure the 
prosperity of their colony without slave labor, and also 
without allowing the importation of rum ; but fi.nding 
that the colony did not prosper they surrendered their 
charter to the king and these prohibitions were re- 
moved. 

The first settlers of the Mississippi Territory took 
with them their colored people as slaves, and into all 



THE COLORED PEOPLE. 613 

the cotton belt Africans were imported until 1808, when 
bj act of Congress the Slave Trade was abolished. But 
as late as 1860 native Africans from the ship "Wan- 
derer " were in the county of Clarke. 

As lias been already said, the colored people have 
been closely connected with the growth and prosperity 
of the county. 

They came with the pioneers from the Carolinas, 
from Geoj-gia, Kentucky, and from Virginia; they 
helped to open the plantations; they raised the cotton 
and the corn; they cared for the wants of the house- 
holds; in the home life and the plantation life, they 
were connected in some way in all the relations of life; 
in joy and sorrow, amid marriage festivities and burial 
solemnities, in visits and at church, in prosperity and 
in adversity, they shared with their masters and mis- 
tresses the joys and successes, the trials and the re- 
verses of fortune. 

That relation of master and servant which existed 
under S])anish, French, British, and American times, 
from 1563 until 1863, no longer exists ; and it becomes 
therefore the more needful, as for many years before 
1860 JS^ew England and Northern writers made so many 
attacks upon the system and its workings in the cotton 
belt, forming what may properly be called an "aboli- 
tion literature,'' it becomes the more needful that, in 
the brief space which this subject may need in this 
volume, real facts and some true pictures of home and 
plantation life should be here presented. Many colored 
inhabitants of Clarke, whom the author has seen and 
known in their former relations and in their present 
condition, may be expected to read these pages ; and 
they may need to be reminded that it is not the his- 



614 CLARKE AND ITS SUEROUNDINGS. 

torian's province to write a story, nor to j^resent any 
prejudiced or onesided views, but to endeavor, with no 
partiality, to present realities, and to present pen-pic- 
tures which are true to the actual life. Not very full, 
in tliis limited space, can any representations here be 
made. 

On the larger plantations it was the general custom 
to employ- an overseer. To him was committed the 
genera] oversight of the hands and the direction and 
charge of the work. 

As might reasonably be expected, some of these 
overseers were not the kind of men they should have 
been, but others were faithful to their weighty responsi- 
bilities. 

The hands were provided regularly with food and 
clothing. Shelter also was provided for all, and good 
medical care in sickness. " Allowances " were given 
out once a week. 

The ordinary allowance for plantation hands was 
one peck of corn meal apiece for large and small, and 
three and a half pounds of bacon, clear meat, each 
week. Sometimes molasses was made a substitute for 
meat. To the men and women one pound of good 
tobacco was allowed each month. 

In cold weather one "dram," or a good drink of 
whiskey, was given each morning. 

For clothing, two suits each year were furnished, 
made of osnaburg, and one suit of kersey for winter ; 
also one blanket and one hat for each hand. Fire wood 
in abundance was always to be had, poultry could be 
kept by the colored families, and dairy products were 
more or less abundant. 

The hours of work were from sunrise to sunset. 



THE COLORED PEOPLE. 615 

Two hours were allowed at noon, in suinnier, for dinner 
and rest ; and one luilf-Liour in winter. 

In regard to work, some owners and overseers re 
quired more than others, and doubtless some provided 
less comforts than others ; but all understood that men 
and women must be fed and clothed in order to perform 
good service. A prominent citizen of Clarke, who was 
in earlier life an overseer on large plantations, and who 
furnislied many of the above facts concerning planta- 
tion hands, in 1839 made ten bales of cotton for every 
hand in the field. He gave his hands that year two 
large dinners. Three of these hands, who were women, 
one of them having a child five weeks old, picked sixty- 
four thousand and five hundred pounds during the 
picking season, the one with the little child picking 
twenty-two thousand and five hundred pounds, which 
would make about fifteen bales of ginned cotton. This 
overseer gave prizes, and thus obtained more than 
ordinary work. His yearly salary was nine hundred 
dollars. He was accustomed to have in writing from 
the owner, at the beginning of a year, the amount that 
each hand should i-eceive in food and clothing. 

The house servants were, in some respects, on a 
different footing from the plantation hands. 

They were more directly under the eyes and charge 
of their mistresses, and according to the disposition of 
tliese, their privileges varied. The great duties of the 
house women were, to cook, wash, iron, do all the 
house work, nurse and attend to the children. 

The attachment of this class to all the members of 
the white family was usually very strong and very 
pleasant. In the wealthier families each white girl 
would have her own waiting maid, and each boy would 



616 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

often have his own particular attendant. The home ot 
a wealthy family constituted therefore quite a large 
establishment, each countr^'-seat or plantation home 
becoming thus a little villa of itself. The girls needed, 
besides their other attendants, a coachman for their 
carriage, and probably a groom for their ponies; the 
.boys needing also a groom for their horses and some- 
times a boj to look after their dogs. In the prosperity 
of the family the colored members shared, and per- 
formed, generally with cheerfulness, their allotted 
tasks. 

Marriages among the colored people were in name 
rather than in fact, and were not very permanent rela- 
tions. Permits, called "passes," signed by some 
member of the white family and which were to be 
shown to any inquiring white person whom they might 
meet, and especially to the patrols, were needful for 
the servants when they wished to go from one home to 
another or from one plantation to another for the pur- 
pose of visiting. To be on the highway, the '•'•big 
road," after night-fall without a pass was not prudent. 

Often a wife would reside on one plantation and her 
husband on another. 

It was interesting in those days to witness the 
humorous scenes that sometimes were presented, when 
several servants would come to the master or mistress 
each to request "a pass"; not exactly such as is men- 
tioned in Scott's Lady of the Lake, to secure one in 
passing among the secret retreats of Loch Katrine, but 
one that would permit each to leave the plantation 
home and be secure trora patrol interference. 

The great holiday season was Christmas, which none 
failed to enjoy. Various ways were adopted to earn 



THE COLORED PEOPLE. 617 

money which would procure larger enjoyment of the 
festivities. Some would, by extra work, secure for 
their own benefit small cotton patches, others would 
cut cord word at night for the steamboats, some would 
collect moss from the trees and prepare it for market, 
and others catch opossums and raise and sell chickens. 
No people could well enjoy the holidays more than did 
the house and plantation servants of Clarke, as, dressed 
in their best attire, without care, responsibility, or fore- 
thought in regard to their supplies for the coming 
year, they went from one plantation to another, danced, 
feasted, rested, and exchanged greetings with old 
friends. * 

According to old travellers, music and dancing are 
strong characteristics of the native Africans. Some one 
asserted, " When the sun goes down all Africa dances.'' 
In 1830 and still later, many of the colored people in 
the cotton and pine belts were native Africans, and re- 
tained much of their original disposition.* The second 
and third generations, although Americanized in many 
respects, retain something of the native fondness for 
dancing, for music, and for frolics. 

At the corn huskings of former days these charac- 
teristics would be displayed, as a leader would seat 
himself on the great pile of ears and give out words for 
singing, leading the tune, and often seeming to make 
up the words. After the toil, thus enlivened, would 
come the abundant plantation refreshments, and then. 
j:>€rhaps, the dance or the wild frolic. 

The servants of those days formed an interesting 

*The author reinembt'rs distinctly Montrose, Wallace, and other native Afri- 
cans, in his father's charge, men and women then in or past middle life. Montrose 
used to give some interesting stories of his native land. Wallace was of princely 
blood. 



618 CLARKE AND ITS SUKEOUNDINGS. 

and a picturesque part of all the church gatherings, and 
especially of the associations, camp-nieetings, and other 
large Sabbath gatherings. Neatly dressed in their 
Sunday clothes, the women and girls in bright colors, 
old and young would make their way in little family 
parties, to the place of meeting, occupy the seats 
assigned to them, back of the white congregation, hav- 
ing their membership in the same churches with their 
masters, observing the church ordinances at the same 
time, joining their rich, musical voices in singing, and 
when the meeting closed returning in crowds along the 
roads to their several homes. Some remembrances 
that go back, now lifty years, recall, in this connection, 
their hearty singing of that grand old hymn, "The 
year of jubilee is come," and as they sang they would 
keep lime with their hands, which they called "patting 
jubil." Surely few, who can now distinctly recollect 
the impressions made at camp-meetings and associa- 
tions fifty years ago, caix fail to find, interwoven with 
these recollections, that the colored people formed a 
conspicuous and an inseparable part in all these large 
gatherings, and such must recall those scenes, lying so 
far back in the past, with j^leasant emotions. Those 
who were then children in the cotton belt, with pure 
and fresh hearts, in the homes of comforts and of luxu- 
ries, if they still retain the freshness and comparative 
purity of their childhood, have many a pleasant picture, 
in colors still bright, hanging on memory's walls, in 
which Anglo-Saxon and African elements inseparably 
blend. But it is needful now to look at the colored 
people in their new condition as freedmen. Light- 
hearted as they were, strongly attached, in general, to 
their white owners, patient, confiding, and dependent, 



THE COLORED PEOPLE. 619 

they made good servants. Some dark shades there 
doubtless were in tliat life of servitude, some cruelties 
here and there, some excesses; but it is now in the 
past with all its associations and its recollections, and 
the question now is, "Will the colored people make as 
good citizens, and managers, and providers for their 
own comforts, as they made useful and successful do- 
mestics ( 

Twelve years of training and of experience they 
have already had. The year of 1865 made a great 
change in the condition of the colored as well as of the 
white inhabitants in Clarke. The army in Virginia 
surrendered to General Grant, the proclamation of 
President Lincoln, made in 1863, now reached the re- 
gion of the pines, and the old relation was severed. 

FREEDoisr was a large word; but what was connected 
with it in the practical matters of every day life? AVho 
now would provide food, and clothing, and shelter, the 
three great necessities for continued existence ? AYho 
would call the physician when sickness came ( Who 
would extend pity and show kindness amid sorrows and 
sufferings i No longer members of the same families 
with the whites, the colored people, as the result of 
freedom, must begin at once to provide for themselves, 
to depend upon themselves. To obtain food and cloth- 
ing it was necessary to work. It was long ago ordained 
for man, '' In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat 
bread," and this ancient decree the condition of free- 
dom did not change. For the first year or two, while 
cotton was high, it was comparatively easy to obtain 
W(jrk on the ])lantations and so receive supplies in re- 
turn for labor performed. Afterward it became more 
difficult, and so the supplies were sometimes much less 



620 CLARKE AND ITS SUKROUNDINGS. 

abundant than in the old days of "plantation allow- 
ances.'' 

But gradually those who were willing to work 
learned to adapt themselves to the new circumstances. 
Quite a number left the county, seeking employment 
on the large plantations of Louisiana; others made lit- 
tle homes for themselves and began to work the old 
plantations. on shares, and a few bought lands and be- 
gan to be provident and successful husbandmen. As 
family relations changed, so, in a short time, church 
relations also changed, and soon the colored people had 
their separate churches, Sunday schools, and associa- 
tions, assembling no longer with the whites, as in for- 
mer days, to worship together Him who "made of one 
blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of 
the earth," who "determined the times before appoint- 
ed, and the -bounds of their habitations." (See Acts 
lY: 26.) 

Considering the circumstances and disadvantages in 
these new and separate organizations, they have suc- 
ceeded well. Receiving some advice and assistance 
from their white brethren and having their former 
plantation preachers ordained, calling others also to 
become pastors and deacons and having these regularly 
ordained, the Baptist portion of the colored people 
have made great advance in religious matters within 
the last few years. Many of them have learned to read 
and to write, and they transact their church and asso- 
ciational business with much earnestness, zeal, and de- 
corum. The author enjoyed an opportunity of attend- 
ing for a short time with a friend the 8th annual 
session of the Colored Bethlehem Baptist Associa- 
tion, held near Gosport, in October, 187Y, and 



THE COLORED PEOPLE. 621 

received afterwards from the Clerk a copy of their Min- 
utes. This Association is composed of thirty-six 
churches in three districts. Tliey have twenty-two or- 
•dained ministers and twenty -three licentiates. A part 
of the churches only are in Clarke county. Some are 
in Monroe, some in Conecuh, and a few in Escambia. 
Moderator, for the yeai", Elder Armstead Cunningham, 
Clerk, Anthony R. Davison, Treasurer, Zachariah 
Michael. The following extracts from reports will 
show the views of this religious bod}^ : 

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES, ETC. 

''^ Resolved^ That it is the sense, of this Association 
that we have an incompetent ministry, caused by the 
churches not being guarded enough in setting apart 
their members to the work of the ministry, and we feel 
that something must be done b}' which this great evil 
can be corrected. 

Resolved^ That, in our opinion, the churches in our 
Association, holding ministers in their membership, 
sliould by the aid of the most competent Presbj^tery 
that can be had, cause a reexamination as to their quali- 
fications to preach the Gospel, and require that said 
minister or ministers be subjected to the judgment of 
said counsel. If it is thought that he or they be quali- 
fied, let them continue to exercise ; otherwise to take 
their credentials from them. And it is recommended 
by this Association that the Evangelist be present with 
all the Presbyteries." 

" Your committee beg leave to report that they have 
taken much interest in inquiring about the literary 
schools, and we are sorry to learn that our schools are 
not advancing as much as they have been. We recom- 
mend that we must not depend entirely on the public 
funds for the purpose of educating the young. We 
feel it necessary to combine ourselves into a society for 
the purpose of raising a contril^ution for the purpose of 



622 CLAKKE AiVD ITS SUREOUNDINGS. 

education, wliicli we so ranch need. We recommend 
that if some important step is not taken for the cause of 
education that we will soon be shut out from the knowl- 
edge and understanding which have been placed in this 
world for us by our great Redeemer. We would 
respectfully recommend this Association to send one or 
more young ministers to the College from this session, 
as we have had several invitations. We should accept 
some of these good invitations. 

Respectfull}'' submitted, 

B. J. CuxNiNGHAM, Chairman.'''' 

"Your committee are sorely pained at the ruinous 
effects of intemperance among our people, and even in 
our churches, and we wauld recommend that the pas- 
tors of our churches be requested to do all that lies 
within their power, both by teaching and example, to 
destroy the wicked habit of drinking ardent spirits. 
Nor do we feel that it is presumptuous in us to warn 
our brethren in other things. If we do not establish a 
higher standard of christian morality, all our churches 
shall die, and our children shall soon have no respect 
for the religion of the blessed Lord and Master. There- 
fore, we would recommend that every church belonging 
to this Association shall see to it that its members are 
walking in righteousness before God, and in love with 
one another. Respectfully submitted, 

N. Biggs, Chair ma^i.'''' 

Xo official information is at hand concerning the 
churches in the other association, nor concerning the 
Methodist colored churches; but it is reasonable to con- 
clude that the views above given will fairly represent 
them all.* 

In regard to physical comforts, food, clothing, and 

* The " Bladon Springs ^[issionary Baptist Association," composed of churches 
in Washington, Choctaw, and Clarke counties, was organized in 1877. The Min- 
utes of 1881, of the fourtli annual session, report eleven churches, all having 
Sunday-schools. .Membership about eight hundred. Moderator, Rev. L. A. Hays. 
Clerk, Rev. C. L. Long, who is also Missionary of the Association. Ordained Min- 



THE COLORED PEOPLE, 623 

shelter, some are still improvident, and their homes do 
not abound with the necessaries, saying nothing of the 
luxuries of life. A few have good homes,and are thriv- 
ing prosperous citizens. On the whole it is not probable 
that the comforts of the colored people are increased, 
in tlie county, beyond what they were in the days of 
regular, daily toil, and weekh^ allowances. They work 
less, they hunt more, they probably enjoy their situa- 
tion better. Their social privileges are greater, but 
are not so improving to themselves. Their educational 
advantages are very much increased. They need to 
learn yet more fully the benefits of industrious habits, 
and that comforts and luxuries are the results of intelli- 
gent and well-directed labor. 

Politically, in this county, the colored voters have, 
to a great extent, elected their candidates ; but no col- 
ored men have been placed in office in the county, and 
none have served as jurors in the courts of justice or 
as inspectors of elections.* They are understood to 
prefer white men in these positions, considering them 
to be better qualified than themselves. They have had 
one colored representative in Congress. They vote, for 
the most part, free from undue restraints; and elections 
up to this time, have passed ofiT, in this county, quietly. 
On the whole, they have learned much, have improved 
their condition, as freed-men, as rapidly as could well 
have been expected ; but they need to be very true to 
themselves, to their opportunities, and to their white 
friends and brethren and fellow-citizens, in order to be 

isters, F. W. White, L. A. Hays, J. W. Whigam, J. J. Jordan, B. W. White, R. L. 
Lewis, and C. L. Long. "Licentiates." A. Adams, J. B. Hatcher, W. J. Johnson, 
N. S. Scott, E. R. Read. 

Minutes obtained from Robert Osborne, once belonging to the Howze family 
at the Rocks, now a shoemaker near Coffeeville and a good workman. 

♦This statement, true in 1877, is no longer a fact in 1882. A few have been 
jurymen and at least one has been appointed inspector. 



624 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUIirDINGS. 

able to enjoy and share with honor or advantage the 
higher responsibilities of American citizens. 

In the past hundred years they have done much for 
the growth and prosperity of this portion of the land; 
ancl it will depend upon themselves very much, upon 
their industrj^, intelligence, enterprise, and piety, if they 
aid largely in its improvement in the years that are yet to 
come. They can now oivn dogs, a privilege which they 
seem to enjoy, as well as horses and cattle, and sheep and 
goats, and houses and lands. They can own guns and 
hunt turkeys and deer, and shoot squirrels, under the 
same legal restrictions with the whites. But in order to 
become good citizens and that the truly patriotic white 
citizen may enjoy seeing them beginning to possess 
homes of their own, they must establish a reputation 
for Industry and for honesty. They must make their 
white neighbors feel sure that their corn and fodder 
and cotton, their cattle and hogs and sheep, and aM 
their possessions, are as secure as though only white 
neighbors lived all around them. When such a reputa- 
tion is established the colored farmers will see more 
prosperity. 

West of the Moncrief school house, and north-west, 
is a little neigborhood of colored families. The owner of 
the lands is a colored man, Charles Robinson, who rents 
to the other families or hires them to work for him. 
They seem to be thrifty. 

One of the most enterprising and successful of these 
colored land-holders in the county is Moses Cannigan 
or Cunningham, sometimes called Moses Calhoun. He 
is adding land to land.* 

* In 1879 when going on in liis plans in a way tliat promised to make liim inde- 
pendently rich he was taken sick and died. The crop of his plantation for the 
year was abont fifty bales. 



THE COLORED PEOPLE. 625 

SOME PRO^rINENT COLORED MEN. 

Chaklks Robinson, named above, lias been a land . 
owner for about twelve years. 

Ma.fok CiNNiNGHAM, a j'Oung man, has inherited 
quite a large estate. If he proves to be ecjual to his 
father in management he will become wealthy. 

Hkxkv Hudson of Bashi is another prominent col- 
ored farmer. He has acquired in a few years a thou- 
sand acres of land and makes yearly about thirty bales 
of cotton. 

Dkxnis NiciroLsoN is another who owns a farm, 
writes a good hand, has built and owns a water gin. 

Among others may be named Wesley Caktee, 
Luke Robinson, a teacher, Elias Chapman, of Good 
Springs, a candidate for county commissioner, Joseph 
Hill of Anderson's beat, Andrew and Jesse Horn, 
land owners and ftirmers of the same beat, and John 
Bakner, a land owner of Gosport beat. He takes the 
county paper. Also Charles Bettis, a politician at 
Choctaw Corner, Oliver Dubose at Grove Hill, and 
Luke Robinson and Enwix Ar:mistead, teachers. Lee 
Pope, who owns the Hill plantation, is a ])rominent 
farmer. When he was married he took a bridal tour 
up the river to Seiina. 

C'liARLEs L. Davis is pastor at Amity and Orange 
Hill. Jerry Jackson is also a prominent preacher. 
(xEriRoE Washington and George H.Washington are 
teachers. Richmond Childs and William Cox, and 
Wesley ]\r. Bettis of Gosport, are politicians. Some 
other political leaders are, Jo. Dickinson, John Scott, 
of Jackson, Moses Bracey, Gaiftestown, ]^. Davis of 
Choctaw Corner, — Daxidson of Tallahatta, and 
40 



626 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

George Dickinson of Baslii. Luke Taylor of Gaines- 
town is a teacher. Frank Dickinson is also a teacher 
and a prominent man among the colored people of the 
county, but not a politician. There may be named 
here also Perry Leggett of Cane Creek beat, Ben 
Armisteai), James Martin, intelligent and capable, 
and Robert Jones, a farmer and a good citizen. Among 
the colored men who have become land owners the 
names of George Bush and sons deserve honorable 
mention. He is now quite advanced in years. He 
was a member of the old Rockville Baptist church in 
1853, and is now a Baptist preacher, and an upright 
and honorable man. He and his sons purchased 800 
acres of the Sun Flower Bend on the Tombigbee river, 
for which they have entirely paid, and they make from 
twenty-five to thirty-five bales of cotton annually. 

Oliver Fair and others, comprising another little 
community of colored people, bought in the same 
locality two hundred and fifty acres of land. These are 
all doing well in the farming line. 

Still another name belongs to this record of colored 
men of prominence in their several neighborhoods and 
c<jmmunities. Mark Dickinson was in 1852 one of the 
most aspiring and promising of the young colored men 
of Grove Hill. He acquired quite a large use of lan- 
guage and of }>ig iDoi'ds^ and often made speeches for 
the gratification and entertainment of the white boys. 
He was familiarly called "the lawyer." He is now, 
of course, in middle age, and has a family to care for 
and to train up in the right way. 

Others no doubt there are whose names might 
fittingly be added to this record, but they have not 
reached the hands of the writer, and so cannot be here 
inserted. 



THE COLORED PEOPLE. Cy27 

In common with those in other parts of tlie South 
the eohjred ])eople of Clarke were imposed upon and 
deluded by desig:ning men, to some extent, before they 
had learned much about the rights or the duties of 
American citizens. 

As one illustration maybe named the stake str indie. 

In 1873 or about that time there passed through the 
county a white man, supposed to be from the North, 
with a large bundle of little colored stakes, who called 
upon the freed-men and told them that the President 
had authorized liim to distribute among them those 
stakes in order tliat thej' might become owne'rs of land, 
and that wherever they stuck one of those stakes the 
land should be theirs, no matter who had owned or 
claimed it. They could make their own selections f(^r 
their farms. The price of a stake was three dollars, but 
when the freed-men could not rais5 that amount the 
stake-man would sell even for one dollar. And Tnany 
of the credulous and trusting colored people, not then 
well versed in American laws concerning real estate, nor 
in the powers of the President of the United States, 
bought these little stakes, stuck them on the lands of 
their white neighbors, and some began to work their 
newly acquired plantations, with what results need not 
be told. Experience teaches something everywhere, 
and after a few impositions of this kind the colored 
people grew wiser. 

The imgrati07i movement offers another illustration. 
Only a few years ago, when from Mississippi so many 
were going to Kansas, a colored man passed through 
neighborhoods of Clarke and announced to the colored 
people that it was tlie order of the President for them 
to leave their li()mes in Clarke countv and join in the 



628 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

great migration movement. Some asked their wliite 
neighbors if they were obliged to obey this order, and 
were tokl that the President had no right to send them 
from their homes, and that they had as good right to 
stay in Clarke county as anybody else had. So they 
staid. 

A few commotions were excited in the county, es- 
pecially near Gosport and at Choctaw Corner. To 
quell the former disturbance men were hastening from 
the extreme western limits of the county, when it was 
ascertained that very few colored men had assembled 
and that there was no real danger. At Choctaw Cor- 
ner, for a little time, an invasion of colored people 
from Marengo was feared. But the alarm soon passed ; 
and, on the whole, the colored inliabitants of Clarke 
have been quiet and orderly. 

hal's lake. 

That long, narrow, winding body of water, among 
the cane-brakes of the Fork, derived its name from' a 
large colored man, six feet and a half in height, who 
ran away from his master and built, in that lonely re- 
treat, a stockade. Others joined him, and it is said 
the number residing here at length reached twenty-five 
or thirty. How long the leader, called Hal, was living 
in the solitude is now uncertain ; but two or three 
years and perhaps a longer time. Game was plenty 
and some wild hogs were to be found. The lake in- 
habitants had obtained guns. At length there joined 
them from Claiborne another runaway, a slave of 
mixed blood, and he also was a man of large and mus- 
cular frame. He, by and by, refused to obey the orders 
of Hal, who exacted obedience from those seeking 



THE COLORED PEOPLE. 629 

shelter with him. This refusal, in some way, Hal 
punished, and the enrag^ed new-comer, who wished to 
be a leader, it is said returned to his master and gave 
information concerning the hiding-place of Hal and his 
associates. 

A party of armed men soon penetrated the cane- 
brake, surrounded the stockade, shots were fired, Hal 
was killed, the otliers were either killed, captured, or 
scattered, and the dangerous lurking- place was broken 
up. This was about the year 184:6. Since that time 
the water has been called Hal's Lake. 

Mb:.MORlALS. 

UNCLK ADAM AND AUNT ESTHER. 

The venerable couple named above were servants of 
E. M. Portis. When Adam was about eighty years of 
age, his wife Esther being considerably younger, they 
were set free by their master. A cabin and garden 
spot were assigned to them a short distance from the 
Portis residence, and provision was made when needful 
for their support. They raised chickens, cultivated 
their garden, and lived comfortably during the evening 
of their daj'S. Both were apparently of unmixed 
African blood. Of their earlier life few facts are pre- 
served. Adam, usuall}^ called Uncle Adam, was quite 
tall, erect, devotedly pious, a plantation preacher. He 
wore a turban on his head and always carried a cane. 
He lived, after he was set free, about twenty-four years, 
dying when he was one hundred and four years old. 
He became nearly blind, and at length stooped slightly. 
Aunt Esther was of medium height, a very neat house- 
keeper, and she kept her husband's apparel always in 



630 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

good condition. She was very kind to the little white 
children who visited her, but did not allow them to 
disarrange her room. She was industrious in her hab- 
its, and much attached to her former master and mis- 
tress. She had several children and grandchildren. 
Among the latter were Isaac and King, Esther and 
Grace. Little Grace was a very smart, bright girl. 

When sent one day by her mistress, not her grand- 
mother, to take a piece of fresh meat to a neighbor, 
the little errand girl, some seven years of age returned 
and reported, in her own dialect, "Her said her much 
obleeged to ye. Her said, when her killed a cow, her 
send you a piece." (This to be read in a quick and 
sprightly tone to give the spirit of the original.) On 
another occasion little Grace was at a neighbor's house 
when some of the family were picking geese. A white 
lady, a neighbor, also called there, a member of a 
family accustomed in those days to do their own work. 
This lady observed that the operators did not pick the 
geese the right way, and remarked that if they' would 
give her an apron she would show them how. The 
apron was brought and she commenced work. Little 
Grace ran into the house in wild astonishment. (This 
slow). " She never saw 'irJiite folks go visiting and go to 
picking geeses. Her mistress wouldn't go to picking 
geeses. She thought v^hite people sat in the house 
and looked nice." Grace called her grandfather 
Grandsire. She used to walk with him in the yard, 
lead him about, and ask questions. He became accus- 
tomed in his old age to go into his yard and preach 
without any special audience. Grace would interrupt 
him by asking questions. To avoid these interruptions 
lie would direct her to sing. So he would preach and 



THE COLORED PEOPLE. 681 

she would sing, entertaining often if not edifying the 
visitors at the home of the Portis family. Aunt Esther 
died before her liusband. Grace grew up and left the 
county. Uncle Adam died about 1855. 

UNCLK .TIM. 

Among the servants belonging to C. E. "Woodard 
was one quite tall, large, advanced in age, and some- 
what lame, known as "uncle Jim.'' He was not very 
brisk at work, and did not like to be hurried. In fact, 
as early as 1851 he seemed too old to be hurried, and 
was too lame to be brisk; yet he was trusty, reliable, 
and obliging. He could read to some extent, probably 
not with great facility, as he had but little opportunity 
for practice. Sometimes, on Sundays, when his duties 
were performed, and there was no preaching at the vil- 
lage church in Grove Hill, he would go in alone, take 
the large Bible from the pulpit and sit down and read 
that holy Book. He is believed to have been a truly 
pious man. He did not live to see the emancipation 
day. 

Uncle Jerry, mentioned on page 157, was a basket 
and chair maker. He was one of the Creighton serv- 
ants. He was, like the renowned Peter Parley, a great 
stor}^ teller, entertaining the white children who would 
gather round him to see him make their nicedittle din- 
ner baskets, and hear his wonderful legends and his 
account of the black folks lore. For his reward he 
would request them to get for him some tobacco and 
some sugar. He was considered, by one at least of 
those little girls, a very noble and faitliful old man. 
He died about 1852. 

Jack Cato, now a colored citizen of Clarke, lives 



632 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

about two and a half miles sonth-west from the resi- 
dence of John Hill. He came from Tennessee when 
twelve years old. He is small in stature. His first 
occupation was to ride race horses. He was afterward 
a drummer in Captain Davis' company in the war f)f 
1812. He was at Fort Mims. He gives a graphic 
account of the Indians, of the women belonging to 
Mims, of the marching of his company, of a skirmish, 
and of Indian prowess. He went to St. Stephens. 
Then went to IS^ew Orleans. Was a drummer there. 
He saw General Packenham. He gives a good descrip- 
tion of Jackson's ditch and breastwork. He gives a 
minute description of Packenhanrs death and of his 
suit of armor. He says no one could catch Packen- 
ham' s horse. From. New Orleans he came back to 
Mobile. He was in the last war. He was at Vicks- 
burg when it was taken by (leneral Grant. He says, 
"them Yankees are hot men." He has a wife and is 
now living in a retired part of the county on a little 
farm, and has the outward appearance of being a very 
old man. According to his accounts, and he talks like 
an eyewitness of events, he must be between eighty 
and ninety years of age. 

TURNED WHITE. 

There ^re some curious freaks of nature, so called, 
some anomalies, some remarkable facts. There ai-e 
white black-birds, and there is in Clarke county one 
white black man. Ben York was born in Tennessee, 
where they made quantities of maple sugar. He was 
taken to JSTorth Carolina, staid about five years, and 
came as a boy, Ben, with Jabez York to Clarke county. 
His young master opened a store at Cofieeville, then 



THE COLORED PEOPLE, 633 

went to Bladon Sprin^^s. Ben helped to build Turner's 
Fort, and was then, as he thinks, about twenty years 
old. He saw the friendh' Choctaws but did not see 
the Creeks. He was at McGrew's Fort. He lived and 
worked as others for the next forty-seven years, and in 
1 861 he began to turn tvhlte. He was not sick. A 
little patch of the black came off about the size of a 
quarter of a dollar silver piece. Little by little more 
came off and was replaced by white skin, or rather left 
a white skin under it, and now he is all white exce])t 
the cheeks, a little patch on the forehead, and some 
black on the chin. i\_ll the body and the limbs are 
white. The small spots remaining are a true negro or 
African black, indicating that this now aged man had 
no white blood. The present skin is not exactly in ap- 
pearance like a healthy Saxon skin of a clear blonde, 
and yet it has no unhealthy look, and to see the limbs 
and body one surely could not suppose that Ben York 
was of pure negro blood. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

GEOLOGY AND UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES. 

INTRODUCToKY NOTE. 

BEFORE presenting the special physical features of 
Clarke it may be well to glance at the divisions, 
as to soil, productions, and occupations of the entire 
state. 

Five regions have been marked out, by some writers, 
for the state of Alabama. 

I. THE TIMBER REGION. 

This is said to extend from the Gulf and Ba}^ north- 
ward and across the state, terminating about forty miles 
north of the Florida line or of the parallel of latitude 
31°. The characteristic vegetation of this region is the 
long leaf or yellow pine. 

Berney speaks of the Fine Belt as extending as far 
north as Nanafalia and Camden, covered " with a mag- 
niticent growth of long-leaved, or yellow pine, of 
immense economical value." He says, " The soils are 
light, thin, and sandy as a rule," with many fertile 
localities, "notably in the richer counties of Butler, 
Monroe, Clarke, and Choctaw."" 

Says Charles Mohr of Mobile, " The lands above 
high water, in the maritime plains of the pine region, 
with a soil richer in vegetable mould, are the home of 
the lofty magnolias, the live oak, water oak, associated^ 
with the pond pine. These are called hammock lands. 

634 



GEOLOGY AND UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES. 635 

Tliej harbor an iindergrowtli of shubber}' luisui-passed 
in variety and beauty." And in this connection he 
mentions the calycanthus, the andromedas, blueberries, 
azalias, and the gorgeously blooming kalmia. 

The long or Si)anish moss is found within this timber 
belt and as far north as latitude 32°. Area of this 
region 11,000 square miles. ' 

II. THE COTTON REGION. 

The breadth of this on the west is one hundred miles 
and on the east side sixty miles, extending across the 
state to a ])oint on the east boundary one hundred miles 
north of Florida. This region has a stiff, black, rich 
soil. This part of the state is not watered b}^ such beau- 
tiful running streams as the region of the pines, and good 
water was formerly difficult to obtain. In 1835 artesian 
wells began to be bored here. These are from three 
liundred to more than a thousand feet in depth, and 
furnish a supply of water which if not cold is abundant. 
Area 11,500 S(|uare miles. 

III. TUE AGRICULTURAL AXl) MANUFACTURING REGION. 

The average breadth of this third belt across the 
state is thirty-five miles. The soil is saiidy. There 
are streams and waterfalls. Area, 8,700 square miles. 

IV. THE MINERAL REGION. 

This covers the north-eastern portion of the state, 
extending in a north-easterly direction one hundred and 
sixty miles with an average breadth of eighty miles. 
It contains three coal fields with an area of four thou- 
sand s(juare miles. It furnishes also limestone, sand- 



636 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

stone, iron ore, white marble, soapstone, flagstone, 
and granite. Area, 15,200 square miles. 

V. THE STOCK AND AGRICULTURAL REGION. 

Tliis occupies the north-west corner of tlie state. 
,The productions are grain, grapes, cotton and corn, 
and stock. Area J:,322 square miles. 

OTHER INTRODUCTORY STATEMENTS. 

Geology as a science proposes to give the history of 
the mineral masses of the earth •'and of the organic 
remains which they contain.'' And everything whicli 
is not animal or vegetable is called mineral, the term 
rocJc^ even, including •* the loose materials, the soils, 
clays, and gravels, that cover the solid parts." Of 
the now almost seventy known elements, the following 
sixteen, silicium, aluminium, potassium, sodium, mag- 
nesium, calcium, iron and manganese; oxogen, hydro- 
gen, nitrogen, carbon, sulphur, chlorine, fluorine, and 
phosphorus; make up in their combinations the great 
bulk of the mineral matter of the earth. The " organic 
remains" found in the soil and in the rocks proper are 
remains of animals and vegetables which lived some 
time in the past. (See Hitchcock's Geology, pages 19, 
20, 53.) So abundant are ten minerals, combinations 
of elements, as to be called the geologic alphahet. 
These are, quartz, feldspar, mica, hornblende, augite ; 
chlorite, talc, gypsum, serpentine, and limestone. 



At some period in the near or more remote past, the 
ocean water covered this region, covering, perhaps, the 

( 



GEOLOGY AND UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES. 637 

wli(»le South-East. Imbedded in the caves of CJlarke 
and tirnilv inwrought into the rocks which cover some 
of its highest hills, are salt-water shells, once evidently 
containing living organisms, which lived in the waters 
of the great sea. It is not necessary for one to believe 
that these or any other organisms on the surface of the 
earth belonged, as a late geologic survey states con- 
cerning certain remains, " to forms of a life so old that 
the most exalted imagination of the poet and geologist 
can have no adequate conception of the lapse of time 
since they were possessed of life."^ It is customary 
and perhaps popular for scientific geologists, so called, 
to claim periods of almost interminable length, as a 
necessity, on their theories of creation or ratlier of for- 
mation, in order to provide for the various changes of 
which the surface of the earth bears witness. And then 
after, or ratlier before, the geologist, comes the scien- 
tific chemical reasoner, and he savs, that all these 
rocks were formed., and these various strata, from ele- 
ments which existed once in very different forms : and 
that for the combination of elements and the decompo- 
sition of elements, long ages must have been required. 
And thus there is made out by this science, "falsely 
so called,'* a duration in the past for this old earth of 
ours as near to an eternity as man's mind can readily 
grasp, extending over millenniums of centuries, and 
millenniums of millenniums, beyond the power of ordi- 
nary arithmetic to reckon. In Lubbock's Prehistoric 
Times, the following estimates are made. For the for- 
mation of the chalk, which is more than one thousand 
feet in thickness, more than one hundred and twentv 
thousand years. For the diminution of the Weald in 

*Gcol()}ric Survey of Indian;i, 1873, Page 137. 



638 CLARKE AISTD ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

the "Wealden Yalley, which is twenty-two miles in 
breadth, it "must have required more than, one hun- 
dred and fifty thousand years." And these periods, 
according to these reasoners, bring us back but a short 
distance toward that past, when, if ever, God truly 
created the heavens and the earth. For those believ- 
ing distinctly, not in the God of science, but in the God 
of the Bible, a personal, living, intelligent Being, and 
believing as fully in miracles, in divine interpositions, 
thei-e is yet no necessity, in view of the facts^ not the 
theories^ of geology, to believe in the existence of more 
than eight or ten thousand years since those authorita- 
tive words were spoken, "Let there be light," in order 
to allow sufficient time for all the geologic changes since 
the beginning of those great creative days. And good 
writers claim to be able to show that they are theories 
and not facts which geologists present, when they 
enlarge so eloquently upon the necessity of immense 
periods of time since the beginning of animal and veg- 
etable life upon our globe. 

The State Geologist has not yet made a survey of 
tliis county, and no definite scientific description will 
be here attempted. Geologists have divided or classi- 
fied the various strata or layers of the crust of our 
globe thus: 1. Azoic, containing no animal remains, 
and supposed to have been formed before any animals 
existed on the earth or in the waters; 2. Silurian, 
when molluscs lived, comprising, among other forma- 
tions sandstone, limestone, shale, and salt beds ; 3. 
Devonian, when fishes lived, known especially as the 
old red sandstone ; 4. Carboniferous, containing moun- 
tain limestone, millstone grit, and the great coal 
measures ; 5. Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous, when 



GEOLOGY AND UNDEVELOPED EESOURCES. 639 

reptiles lived, comprising especially the chalk toi-ina- 
tions ; and 6. Tertiary and Quaternary formations, 
when mammals began to live. After all these forma- 
tions geologists suppose the age of mind or man to 
have commenced. One characteristic fossil of this 
county, known as the zeuglodon, belongs to the ter- 
tiary formation. The bones of this animal were very 
numerous between Grove Hill and Coffeeville, and 
particularly on the Creagh plantation, around a place 
known as The Kocks. The animal when living is sup- 
posed to have resembled slightly the whale. It was 
from eighty to one hundred feet in length, had large 
jaws and yoked teeth, and is described by Prof. Owen, 
"as one of the most extraordinary of mammalia which 
tlie revolutions of the globe have blotted out of the 
number of existing beings." It seems to have been 
first brought to the attention of the Association of 
American Oeologists, by Dr. Harlan at their meeting 
in 1841. It was afterwards named by Prof. Owen 
Zeuglodon cetoides. In Hitchcock's Geology, page 
168, may be found a representation of one of these ani- 
mals, the skeleton being now in Berlin, Europe, having 
been taken from Clarke county. Prof. Buckley and 
Sir Charles Lyell visited this county for the purpose of 
examining these remains. Brewer says that Prof. 
Buckley obtained a vertebral column seventy feet in 
lengtli, together with the bones of the head, the ribs, 
and the limbs, which skeleton is now in a museum in 
Boston. Hitchcock, in his text book of Geology, 
credits this animal to xVlabama alone ; Webster credits 
it to Georgia and Alabama ; while Brewer states that 
its remains have also been j'ound in Mississippi and 
Louisiana. It niav be safelv athrmed that nowhere 



640 CLAEKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

liave Zeuglodon bones been found in such abundance 
as in the county of Chirke. 

The editor of the Clarke County Democrat, who 
lives on the edge of the Zeuglodon region, and speak- 
ing of a number of these fossils which he has collected, 
some pieces weighing thirty and forty pounds, observes: 
"Judging from the size of these bones, the Zeuglodon 
must have been an animal of mammoth proportions. 
As to the time when those animals ceased to exist, and 
under what circumstances their bones were deposited, 
in such large numbers on this soil, can never be 
known. They lie here in their almost imperishable 
petrifaction, defying Time's destructive hand, as silent 
evidences of the past — of the throes and convulsions 
of the earth which made high and dry land of the 
ocean's bed; and here they will remain during the 
ages to come, for the inspection of the curious, and as 
evidences of beings that lived and died, it may be, 
thousands of years ago." 

That large quantities of fossil shells exist in this 
county has already been mentioned. They may be 
found ill the Bashi cave region, in different places 
along Bassetts Creek, near the old fort Sinqueiield, in 
the rocks near Gainestown, and in the western portion 
of the county. Specimens of shells, taken from the 
Bashi caves and from a well bored into a shell bed 
twenty-five feet from the surface, were placed in the 
hands of Professor Charles E. Hamlin, of Harvard Uni- 
versity, Cambridge, Massachusetts, who gave them a 
scientific examination and very kindly returned with 
them the following list of names. Some cuts repre- 
senting a few of these shells may be looked for on a. 
later page. 



GEOLOGY AXD U^^DEVELOPED RESOURCES. 641 

1. A^enericardia 

planicosta, 
Lam. 

2. Crassatella 

alta, 

Conrad. 

3. Ancillaria 

subglobosa, 

Conrad. 

4. Crepidula 

lirata, Conrad; 

cornu-arietis, Lea. 

5. Cardita alticostata, Conrad; 

A^enericardia transversa, Lea. 

6. Cytlierea (Callista* 

?pqiiorea, Conrad; 
Hydii, Lea. 

7. Rostellaria 

Lamarckii, 
Lea. 

8. Yoluta 

(probably) Sayana, 
Conrad, 
it. Turritella 
lineata, 

Lea. 
10. Pectunculiis. 
IL Pecten. 

12. Pecten. 

13. Voliita, 

( nnieli distorted, 

species uncertain). 

14. Teeth of Shark. 
41 



642 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

The State geologist of Alabama, Dr. E. A. Smith, 
classifies the rocks thus : stratified^ deposited in strata 
and formed from the "disintegration of some pre- 
existing rocks"; the massive or igneous rocks, contain- 
ing no organic remains, not formed from other rocks; 
and metamorpliic rocks, crystalline, fossil remains usu- 
ally obliterated. The earth cooling contracts, unequal 
pressures, oscillations of crust, mountains formed. The 
whole process "a slow one, extending over ages." 

The movements of the earth's crust periodic. At 
tlie close of the Carboniferous age, the Appalacliian 
chain became a fixed mountain range. 

Prof. Dana gives twenty periods of geologic forma- 
tions in North America. These are assigned, after life 
on earth commenced, to six ages: 1st and earliest, of 
invertebrates, Silurian Age; 2d of fishes, Devonian; 3d 
of vegetables, Carboniferous; 4th of reptiles, Reptilian 
Age ; 5th of mamrmals; 6th of man. Kear the close of 
the Reptilian Age is placed the 18th, the Cretaceous 
formation. In the Age of Mammals is the Tertiary, 
the 19th, the formation assigned to most of Clarke 
county, divided into Eocene, Miocene, Pliocene. Co- 
eval with man is placed the 20tli and last formation, 
called Quaternary, including the Drift, the Loam, and 
Alluvium deposits. 

Paleozoic time, before which was Azoic or no life, 
includes the first three ages, ages according to geolo 
gists of almost unmeasurable length. Mesozoic time in- 
cludes the fourth or Reptilian. The Age of Mammals 
ajid of Man is called Cenozoic time. 

Clarke county, according to the state geologist, is 
mostly tertiary, as to its geologic formation. Air Mount 
belongs to the cretaceous. Oeoloylc theory. "After the 



GEOLOGY AND UNDEVELOPED KESOURCES. 648 

Paleozoic fonnatioiis wore deposited and the A])[)a- 
laeliian formation was made,''' forming the Athmtic 
mountain border, the southern limit of the continent 
was near tlie present city of Tuskaloosa. The mouth 
of the Mississippi was then near the present mouth of 
the Ohio. The lower part of Alabama was then, of 
course, beneath the waters of the Gulf. (If some one 
should ask, This was when ? Echo alone would an- 
swer, When ?) The i-eceding of the shore line south- 
ward is claimed in this theory to have been " very 
gradual and uniform," and the remains of animals then 
inhabiting the sea were imbedded in the soil, which as 
the waters receded was exposed to the sunlight. 

Such is the theoiy which accounts for our now find- 
ing such quantities of sea shells, such remains of the 
wonderful cetaceous mammal, called zeuglodon.* 

The Tertiary Formation in Alabama has not been 
thoroughly studied. The Eocene division prevails so 
far. as known. Subdivisions given are, Buhrstone, 
Claiborne, Jackson, Vicksburg, and Grand Gulf A 
section on Baslii Greek near Woods Bluff is thus given 
by Professor Tuoniey : Thirty feet of fossiliferous maul 
with green sand and caves; "blue sand, thickness 
variable," six feet of lignite and clay ; laminated clay, 
sand, and mud, "thickness variable'"; and an undeter- 
mined thickness of lignite below. Above all these are, 
according to the state geologist, about one hundred and 
seventy-five feet of laminated clays and sands, and then 
the buhrstone proper, " a series of beds consisting of 
white silicons always with beds of siliciiied sliells, also 
aluminous sandstones and clay-stones with fossils." 

* Wliuuevor the tertiary formation occurred, I am free to confers my individ- 
ual belief that the^e large animals lived either in the days of Methuselah or since 
his time. Such an opinion may seem '//«s«e«(fii./?c and yet be true. T. H. B. 



644 CLARKi: AXD ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

The green sand, so-called, which often prevails, de- 
composing "imparts to the soil 'a deep red tinge'' 
This red tinge is found in the sand and clay in different 
parts of Clarke. Fertile soil may be expected where 
the beds of green sand are found. 

In the bluff at Claiborne, as given by Professor 
Tuomey, the following strata appear : A drift forma- 
tion, red sand, loam, and pebbles, thirty feet, mottled 
clay, eight feet, limestone with green sand, fifty-four 
feet, ferruginous sand with small shells highly fossilif- 
erous, thickness not given, limestone, whitish, sixty- 
two feet, limestone and clay, fifteen feet. The Clai- 
borne bluff is two hundred or more feet in height. The 
zeuglodon bones are found usually in the clays and 
marls, and associated with the white limestone are 
assigned to what is called the Jackson group. 

The white limestone, so ''well developed "' at St. 
Stephens and in various places in Clarke county, is 
assigned to the Yicksburg group. 

The stratified Drift, or Orange Sand, is a widely 
spread formation of Alabama covering •• nearly all the 
lower half of the State."" Its materials are pebbles, 
sand, and clay; the pebbles and sand often cemented 
into pudding stones and ferruginous sandstones. The 
sands are tinted by oxide of iron, orange, red. yellow, 
and other colors appearing. 

The Southern Drift differs from the Northern. It 
is stratified. A large flow of water is supposed to have 
spread these beds of sand and pebbles where they now 
lie. To one who has never seen pebble beds, those of 
Clarke would be certainly astonishing. Well might he 
wonder where they came from and how they came, 
unless he could believe that they were created as peb- 



GEOLOGY AND UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES. 645 

blcs wliere now tliev lie. Broken tVagMnents of the 
sandstones are found near the tops of hills reminding 
one, says the state g'eologist, ''of the remains of an (jld 
forge."" A remarkable example of these bi'oken stones 
is on a hill side not far from Grove Plill. And on many 
and many a hill of Clarke the stones are, to one accus- 
tomed to the prairie leas, perfectly wonderful. 

Minerals of the county having more or less value 
are the following: limestone, found in many parts and 
as yet used merely for building chimneys; marble, 
hard, near Gainestown; mica, probably in some quan- 
tity, in West Bend, neai* the residence of E. S. Thorn- 
ton ; marl beds, in different places; hard rock of differ- 
ent kinds, useful for building purposes; lignite, number 
of beds and amount not known ; clay, suitable for mak- 
ing brick ; and, according to Indian statements, some 
silver. But that by whites has not yet been dis- 
covered. 

At Gainestown, some years ago, a mill was erected 
and several thousand dollars' worth of marble was cut 
out and polished. It was considered too hard for ordi- 
nary work. This marble vein will quite surely again be 
utilized. 

The salt springs and wells of the county are impor- 
tant in considering the geology as well as the resources 
of Clarke. 

These, and also the sulphur springs, were discov- 
ered by JVIcFarland through some Indian traditions. 
McFarland, as the name indicates, was a Scotchman, 
who before the Indian AVar, about 1S09, iirst opened 
what are known as the Lower Salt Works. These were 
afterwards leased by Ball <fc Bayard, from Boston, in 
the year 1819. At that time planters would exchange 
a load of corn at the '• works '" for a load of salt. 



646 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

There are three special localities where at different 
times salt lias been made. 

1. LOWER WORKS. 

Salt Reserve or the Lower Salt Works is a locality 
just north of Oven Bluff on sections twenty-one and 
twenty-eight. 

2. CENTRAL WORKS. 

The Location of these springs and wells is near Salt 
Mountain. 

3. UPPER WORKS. 

The locality known as the Upper Salt Works is on 
sections sixteen and seventeen, in township seven, 
range one east. The furnaces at these woi-ks were sit- 
uated about on the section line. 

During the years of the civil war this saline region 
of Clarke proved to be a great benefit to the southern 
part of the Confederacy. Salt is a necessity for man 
and for some domestic animals, and here it was ob- 
tained. The State held land as reservation at the 
Upper and Lower Works, and of these the following 
reliable statements have been given : 

"lower state works. 

Number of men employed, four hundred. 

Furnaces twenty. To each twenty men. 

Xumber of teams eighty, four to each furnace. 

Amount of salt made per day, four lumdred bushels. 

Length of time work continued, three and a half 
years. 

Price of salt at the works, §5 to §40 per bushel. 

UPPER STATE WftRKS. 

I^umber of men employed six hundred. 

Furnaces thirty. 

Number of teams one hundred and twenty. 



GEOLOGY AND UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES. 647 

Amount of salt made per day, six hundred bushels. 

Length of time work continued, about three years. 

Price of salt at the works, $10 to $40 per bushel." 

The Central Works were carried on by private en- 
terprise and it is claimed that more salt was made than 
at either of the other places, some claiming that as 
much was made as at both the others. The above 
statements do uot include the men engaged in cutting 
wood and in other work. Taking into the number all 
engaged in various ways and it is very certain that be- 
tween two and three thousand hands were employed at 
the Upper Works alone. In all, engaged in making 
salt in Clarke county for three years there were, of 
white and colored persons, more than six thousand. 
At the State Works, it is said, the Sabbath was 
observed and work stopped. Business sometimes 
stopped at the private works over Sunday. 

The following are also statements from reliable 
sources: 

The salt was sold at from two dollars and a half to 
seven dollars a bushel in gold; at forty dollars a bushel 
in Confederate mone3^ 

It was taken down the river and was conveyed by 
teams into Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and else- 
where So numerous were these teams that for miles 
from the various ''works'' it was difficult to cross the 
road. The line of teams resembled those sometimes 
seen in a busy and crowded city. And these places 
seemed like manufacturing cities. 

In the woods, where fuel was obtained for the fur- 
naces, no single axe nor single falling tree could be 
heard. At the Upper Works the pine timber was cut 
down on the Government Reserve, on sections six- 



648 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

teen nr.d seventeen, and on some four other sections, 
making in all nine or ten sections cleared to supply the 
furnaces with fuel. 

Wells were bored to obtain the water. These were 
at lirst artesian, that is, the water rose to the surface; 
but as more wells were added to the number, (and a 
line of wells was at length bored a mile in extent), it 
became necessary to pump the water about sixteen feet. 
Salt water was found at a depth of one hundred and 
sixty feet. One well was nearly six hundred feet in 
depth. Some of these wells are now overflowing, 
furnishing salt for the stock that range here. Some of 
these wells furnished thirtj-three and a half gallons in 
a minute. Seven kettles of water would make one 
kettle of salt, (seven or eight gallons of cane juice 
make one gallon of molasses. The amount of evapora- 
ti(^n in each process, making salt and making molasses, 
is thus about the same). 

In the swamp or bottom land salt water was reached 
at the depth of eight feet. 

One man at the Upper Works, with one furnace, 
having from fifteen to twenty hands, made sixty bushels 
a day. J. O. Hicks, with one furnace, fifteen hands, 
and a less number of pans, using five cords of wood, 
averaged thirtj^-six bushels a dav. 

At the Upper Works were the State Works, the 
County Works, and the j^ordlinger Works, besides 
private works. Some pumped by steam, some by 
horse power. The State management is said not to 
have succeeded so well as the management by private 
enterprise. At the Lower Works the wells were in 
depth from sixty to one hundred and fifty feet. The 
water at first flowed over the top, but soon pumps were 
needful. 



GEOLOGY AND UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES. 649 

As coiiinion salt is a chloride of sodium the salt 
water found here attests tlie presence of those tw(^ ele- 
ments, sodium and chlorine. 

Why the manufacture of salt may not be protitahle 
here some dav remains to be seen. The water of the 
celebrated Onondaga salt springs in Xew York contains 
about one-seventh part <lry salt. This contains about 
the same. There were made in Xew York, in one 
year, six millions of bushels. In Virginia tlie same 
year there were made three and a half millions. Ac- 
cording to the figures given above there were made in 
Clarke county in one year a half million bushels. In 
th^ year referred to above twelve millions of bushels 
was the estimated amount made in the United States. 

If the supply of water is abundant, or anything like 
unfailing, the salt wells of Clarke will again become 
valuable. 

On the line of the Grand Trunk railroad between 
Jackson and Mobile it is said that there are valuable 
beds of lignite. A survey along that line, in reference 
to the mineral deposits, was once made, but it has not 
been given to the public. 

SULIMIUK WELL. 

One mile from Jackson, southward, is the noted 
sulphur well of the county. It was bored in 1S62. It 
is Artesian, one hundred feet in depth. The diameter 
of the bore is four inches. The force at iirst was sutH- 
cient to send the water ten feet above the surface. It 
now iiows over the surface in a full, clear stream. It is 
not very c<jld, but its medicinal qualities are said to be 
excellent. Some of the water was analyzed by Professor 
Stubbs of Auburn, Alabama, and found to contain sul- 
phur and soda. 



650 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Ln 1874 some one plugged uj) tliis well, and it caved 
in a little. The plug was soon removed. A_ man from 
Mobile bored several wells around this. Some were 
witliin two hundred yards. One of these, about one 
hundred feet in depth, furnished a bold stream, but 
very different kind of water from this sulphur well. It 
was reported that copper was taken out of one of these 
wells. 

This well is owned by J. M. Finch whose residence 
is south of Suggsville. It is a place of considerable 
resort for invalids and pleasure seekers. It might 
be made, by the erection of suitable buildings, a de- 
lightful place for bathing and drinking medicinal watoi*. 
It is abont four miles from the central salt works' 
springs. 

Before passing to notice ''undeveloped resources," 
the following observations are considered worthy of rec- 
ord as illustrating the rapidity of the action of water, 
one recognized agency in geologic changes. 

On what was formerly the Bettis place, section thir- 
teen, township eight, range three east, is a little stream, 
flowing at length into Bassetts Creek, measuring in 
breadth not more than eighteen inches, which has within 
a few years cut into the soil, here, mostly sand and 
gi'avel with a little clay, and laid bare the limestone bed 
beneath, at a depth of from five to fifteen feet. In some 
places the cut is now about eight feet wide; in others 
it is forty, and at the surface even sixty. The lime- 
stone is soft, when first exposed to the air. Some of it 
is masses of shells, generally small, countless almost 
in number in even one cubic yard, and well defined and 
beautiful, crumbling readily when exposed to the air. 
Into this soft limestone the running water has already 



GEOLOGY AND UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES. 651 

cut cluinnels,in places from one foot to four feet in deptli. 
The stream of water, it is to be remembered, is small, 
and it is but a few years since the surface was broken 
and the first action here commenced. A few miles 
distant there is an illustration of water action on a 
grander scale. 

On the east side of Bassetts Creek, on the north 
side of the Claiborne road is an old plantation. It has 
been cultivated for many years and is nearly "'worn 
out." A little stream of water started from one of the 
hill sides and began to wear on the surface of the culti- 
vated land. Year after year its action went on, and 
now enormous gullies are there, from twenty to forty 
feet in depth, and probably fifty and sixty feet in 
breadth; and it is safe to say that millions of tons of 
sand have been washed out and spread over the once 
rich creek bottom lands, covering hundreds of acres, 
rendering it worthless at present for tillage. The rapid 
cutting out of immense gulches on the hill sides of the 
older plantations is astonishing to those who have never 
observed the action of running watei". 

RESOURCES. 

Among the resources of tlie county, not yet to any 
great extent developed, one would naturally look first 
at the immense quantity of pine. 

Some years ago D. Daffin, Editor for so many years 
of the Grove Hill Herald, but then an invalid in the 
State of Minnesota in search of health, writing a series 
of letters for the Democrat, and having described 
Minnehaha and having spoken of the falls and of the 
immense number of logs to be seen there, wrote the 
following: '' This lumber business is one of the most 
powerful elements of wealth in the state.'' ''The pine 



652 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

timber of Clarke county would be worth millions of 
dollars in many parts of Illinois; and though it may 
now appear unreasonable, it would not surprise me it 
much of the pine timber in South Alabama were used 
north of the Ohio riv^er before 1900." 

As illustrative, in regard to this pine, the following- 
facts are presented concerning spar timber which has 
been exported from the county. 

Some citizens of the county were engaged in the 
years of 1852, 1853, 1854, and 1855, in getting out spars 
for foreign market. The pieces were required to be from 
eighty-two and a half to ninety-two and a half feet long. 
They were to be from twenty-six to thirty inches in 
diameter for one sixth of the length. At the small 
end they were to be from eighteen to twenty-one inches 
in diameter. They were to be hewed for one sixth of 
the length on eight sides or into eight equal sides, and 
for five sixths of the length they were to have sixteen 
equal sides. Only three-fourths of an inch of sap was 
allowed on a stick. 

The wheels used in conveying the spars to the river 
were nine feet in diameter, the tires being six inches in 
breadth. One pair of wheels was placed at each end 
of the spar. The axles of the wheels were iron, four 
inches in diameter. Ten and twelve yoke of oxen were 
used to draw these timbers. A snatch block was used, 
with rope three hundred feet in length, to pull the tim- 
bers out to the wheels. Ten hands were employed in 
this work, besides two to oversee the whole. These men 
would average one piece of this timber a day, delivered 
on the bank of the river. From twenty to twenty-live 
pieces were fastened together into a raft and floated to 
Mobile. 



GEOLOGY AND UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES. Qo?i 

A Mobile contractor, Joseph E. Murri'll, who had a 
contract from the French Government, purchased these 
timbers, paying for each stick, delivered at Mobile, 
from eighty to one hundred and fifty dollars. Some- 
times for an unusually large one he would pay two 
hundred dollars. They averaged one hundred dollars 
a stick. Murrell of course obtained much more for 
them. In 1853 two Spanish vessels, one large and the 
other small, came to Mobile and bought one hundred 
and eighty pieces. These Spaniards are represented as 
having been "treacherous.'' They would wet the tape 
line and stretch it when measuring their timber. These 
American lumbermen therefore sent Xortli and had a 
tape line made with wire in it which could not be 
stretched. This line cost five dollars. It probablj^ 
saved many times five dollars. These men stopped 
work during the months of July and August, and also 
during December and January, following this business 
only eight months in the year. At one time forty days' 
work with five hands, twenty sticks only being delivered, 
brought to the workmen in Clarke twenty-seven hun- 
dred and fifty dollars. The longest spar obtained was 
ninety-two feet long, thirty-two inches in diameter one- 
sixth of the length, and twenty-two inches at the small 
end. A tree which would make a spar eighty-two feet 
in length would generally be one hundred and twenty- 
five feet in height 

This timber when taken to Mobile was kept under 
water, sunk in the creeks near Mobile, to protect it 
from mildew and from sun cracks. Sometimes four or 
five cargoes would be thus on hand at one time. These 
spars were taken out some thirty miles from Mobile 
and loaded into the ships through a window in the end 
or stern of the vessel. 



654 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Seventy-iive thousand dollars worth of timber went 
thus from Clarke and Monroe, in a few years, across 
the Atlantic to France and to Spain, the two countries 
that had each in turn, in the years of the past, held 
control of the great long-leaved pine belt. 

One of the men engaged in this enterprise, in the 
years above named, said, that he did not want a fortune 
any nearer than to have good timber near a river. 

The lumber for the great bridge at Louisville, Ken- 
tucky, is said to have been taken from Monroe county, 
where there are mills that cut one hundred thousand 
feet a day. Before many years such mills must surely 
be erected in Clarke, and surely in these magnificent 
pines, which now rear their lofty summits upon thou- 
sands and hundreds of thousands of acres of land, which 
could now be bought for one dollar an acre, are im- 
mense undeveloped resources. And not for lumber 
alone are these valuable, but for pitch, for tar, for tur- 
pentine, and for resin. In 1851) and in I860 quite a 
large turpentine business was commenced in the pine 
forests north of Coffeeville by Dr. Alexander, Henry 
Hudson, Jesse Scruggs and J. Foscue. At that time 
the resin would not pay for transportation, and so was 
thrown away, forming )iear the turpentine distillery a 
large resinous pond. So soon as a line of railroad 
passes through this pine region every product of this 
tree must become merchantable and valuable. 

Within the last few years the timber business has 
largely revived under a new form. The sticks of tim- 
ber are hewed on four sides but not squared, some 
sticks being twenty-four by twenty-six inches at the end, 
and some of the pieces fifty feet in length. They bring 
in Mobile from twelve to fifty dollars a stick. One 



GEOLOGY AND UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES. 655 

mail foi" sixty-nine pieces received nine liiindrod dollars. 

Much of this goes to England. An English firm, 
Guy, Bevan & Co., of Mobile and London, lumber- 
men, have lately become owners of some large tracts of 
Clarke county pine. 

It is possible that a better market might be found 
for this pine in New England. At the city of Ilolyoke 
on the Connecticut river, the great paper city of the 
country, where one hundred and fifty tons of pa])er are 
made in a day, a large quantity of this pitch pine, ob- 
tained at present from Georgia, is going into use. 
Millions of feet are needed there now in a year. The fol- 
lowing ligures will give the dimensions in inches of the 
timber now wanted there, the pieces to be from twenty 
to forty or fifty feet in length ; 8 by 8, 8 by 10, 8 by 12; 
6 by 8, 6 by 12, 6 by 14; 10 by 10, 10 by 12, 10 by 14; 
12 by 12, 12 by 13, 12 by M; U by 14. ' Also, 3 by 8, 

3 by 10, 3 by 12, 3 by 14; 4 by 8, 4 by 10, 4 by 12, 

4 by 14. These latter to be from twelve to thirty-five 
feet long. For this they pay, delivered at Xew Ha- 
ven, twenty-eight dollars per thousand feet. But if 
the sticks reach fifty feet in length they pay forty dol- 
lars. And for pine plank forty feet long they pay forty 
dollars per thousand feet. 

Within the last few years this pine lumber is truly 
finding its way '"north of the Ohio." 

It is used not only in the factory cities of New Eng- 
land, but in the towns of the north central states. An 
immense building, an asylum, at- Kankakee City in 
Illinois, is "finished oflP" with this pitcli pine lundjcr. 
from the pine belt of the south. 

It becomes those who are owners of pine lands to 
save the timber IVom wanton destruction. Every foot 
of it will bv and bv be needed. 



656 CLAKKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

The agricultural resources of the county are by no 
means, as yet, fully developed. Many thousands of 
acres of valuable land are yet, except the additional 
growth of the native forest, as when the Creeks and 
Choctaws hunted in the cane brakes. The capability 
for an increased yield of ground-peas, sweet-potatoes, 
rice, sugar-cane, corn, and cotton, would be astonish- 
ing when brought out, as it doubtless will be ere long, 
in improved and moj-e thorough methods of true Amer- 
ican husbandry. The sugar-cane will mature here to a 
height of six and seven feet, occasionally as many as 
twenty-two joints have matured. One acre of cane in 
1876 produced two hundred and twenty gallons of mo- 
lasses, about three hundred pounds of sugar, and suffi- 
cient cane was left to plant an acre. It requires some 
three thousand stalks to plant an acre. The usual 
price for cane in the spring time is one dollar for a hun- 
dred canes. One thousand canes will make from thirty - 
five to forty gallons of molasses. The Rev. Mr. Wat- 
son, living some six miles from Peach Tree, makes 
annually about forty barrels of molasses. Good cane 
will produce about thcee hundred gallons to the acre. 
With these facts before one, it is evident that making 
molasses and sugar can be made a profitable branch of 
industry here. 

Sweet potatoes grow abundantly at present In 
early times one acre is said to have yielded five hun- 
dred bushels. One hundred bushels to the acre 
may be considered a good crop. Three hundred 
bushels are now rarely raised ; but two hundred and 
fifty may be by careful culture. The largest area known 
to have been planted by any one man in the county is 
twentv acres. 



GEOLOGY AND UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES. 657 

Corn does not grow here luxuriantly, but John R. 
AV^ilson. in 1M45. raised seventy-two bushels of corn, 
actually and accurately measured, on a measured acre, 
near Suggsville. 

The fresh lands of the limestone parts of the county 
yield a bale of cotton^five hundred pounds — to the 
acre. The pine table lands by careful culture can be 
made to yield as much ; but a half bale on an acre is 
considered a good crop. The bottom lands of the creeks 
and rivers are verj^ productive. 

This was once a great stock region, and it is capable 
of becoming such again. Goats and sheep, cattle and 
hogs, can be profitably raised with a little care and 
skill. 

The unused water-power of the county needs some 
notice. The little state of Rhode Island has an area less 
than the county of Baldwin, not much larger than the 
county of Clarke. It sustains a population numbering 
about a quarter of a million. It is a manufacturing dis- 
trict, abounding in little streams of water flowing into 
Xarraganset Bay or into the Ocean. Wealth has accu- 
mulated there because the inhabitants made useful each 
little waterfall. On the streams of Clarke are many 
mill seats, quite a number furnishing water-power suffi- 
cient for large cotton mills, for woolen factories, for 
paper mills, for various kinds of machinery. When 
this becomes utilized and puts in motion wheels and 
rollers and spindles and looms, then will employment 
be furnished to thousands of operatives and then will 
millions of dollars be exchanged for the various articles 
manufactured. 

These natural mill seats are on small living streams, 
often with solid rock walls on both sides of the stream, 
43 



658 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

and with material abundant and easily available for 
constructino; a dam. On some of these are now small 
corn mills, with ponds to furnish a head of water which 
ponds cover sometimes not more than half an acre. No 
one has ever vet counted the number of good mill seats 
on the various streams, but they will be found sufficient 
in number, and, unless the many thousands of springs 
now perennial should become dry, abundant in water 
power for large manufacturing towns and villages. For 
the preservation of these springs and streams it will be 
needful that a sufficient growth of the native trees be 
allowed to remain upon the land. If to a large extent 
these should be cut down, doubtless the springs would 
not be so abundant. 

Leaving the water-power for a coming generation to 
render usefnl and to bring under the control of man's 
will, let us look, in the last place, at the capabilities 
for fruit raising. Strawberries, plums, peaches, figs 
and grapes, maybe said to grow abundantly here, when 
any attention is paid to their cultivation. The native 
plums, the peaches, and the iigs are surely luscious, 
and much of the soil is well adapted to the growth 'of 
strawberries. 

From different parts of the state fruits and flowers, 
in paying quantities, are now taken to the Northern 
markets : and so soon as railroad communication is 
opened, Chicago will furnish an abundant market for 
all the strawberries that can be sent away in April and 
in the early part of May, for the peaches that can be 
sent in June and July ; and the earliest melons would 
probably pay well for transportation. The small peach- 
growing belts of the !N^orth furnish a very lucrative em- 
ployment to the owners of the land ; and a few thousand 



I 



GEOLOGY AND UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES. 659 

acres in Clarke county devoted to the cultivation, for 
market, of the choice fruits of the South, would bring 
hundreds of thousands of dollars each year into the 
pockets of the fruit raisers. Access to market there 
soon must be, if our civilization goes onward, and in 
these fruits, at present a more sure crop than cotton, 
better adapted to the soil than corn, a source of large 
wealth may safely be predicted. Sent when fresh to 
the Northern cities, and. when dried, fitted for the mar- 
kets of the world, the amount which athousatid families 
might realize, having ten acres each in well selected 
fruits, such as will grow well on this soil and ripen in 
this climate, no one can accurately estimate. Yet some 
statements may aid the citizens of Clarke in considering 
this subject. 

The largest strawberry ''patch" in Georgia, so far 
as is known, contains twenty acres. In Kentucky and 
Mississippi one acre has yielded thirty-two hundred 
quarts, or one hundred bushels of strawberries. One 
thousand quarts may be taken as a safe average for an 
acre on a large berry farm. These will sell for from 
one dollar to ten cents a quart. The twenty acre farm 
in Georgia averages some years twenty cents a quart 
clear of expenses. It may be estimated that fifty dol- 
lars* worth to begin with will set out an acre, and that 
from an acre may be realized, in a bearing year, a 
profit of from one hundred to two hundred dollars. In 
the full bearing season one girl can pick from forty to 
fifty quarts in a day. 

In this year of 1S77, a man in Mobile county near 
tlie Mobile and ( )hio road shipped six thousand boxes 
of peaches and realized a profit of five thousand dollars. 

In 1851 oranges grew successfully in the south part 



6 HO CLARKi: AXD ITS SrRROU>T)INGS. 

of Clarke, but this variety of fruit belongs to Florida 
and Louisiana, not to Alabama. 

Olives are raised successfully in Marengo c«>uiity 
and perhaps might be in Clarke. 

Vegetables, so soon as there is rail road transporta- 
tion, will be profitable. From the gardens near Mobile 
vegetables were shipped to the ]S^orth. in 1S77 am<innt- 
ing in value to fortv-four thousand dollars. 

Vegetables, fruits, and flowers, are as it were but 
besrinnincr to find northern markets. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE PRESENT, 1876. 

rr^IlE narrative of events in a former chapter closed 
-L with the year 1875. 

The great Centennial Year of the country, 18T6, 
came here as elsewhere; although until May of 1799 this 
had formed no real part of the United States. The pre- 
parations for the various exhibitions of the nation's pro- 
gress, in agriculture and arts and mechanism, in the city 
of Philadelphia, attracted some attention; but few of the 
citizens of Clarke were so situated as to be able to 
mingle in the mighty throngs of crowding millions, 
that from the tenth of May till the tenth of November 
sojourned for a season in the City of Brotherly Love. 

The presidential election of the year enlisted more 
largely the interests of the peoj^le. The election in 
this county passed off quietly as usual. Of course a 
large disappointment was felt when the final result of 
that political contest was announced. 

At Qainestown, after the local elections, R. H. Flinn, 
the newly elected tax collector, and a few of liis friends, 
gave, August 26, a general barbecue, invitations being 
issued to white and colored citizens alik'e. The exer- 
cises were very pleasant, and the barbecue was pro- 
nounced by participants to have been '"a decided and 
complete success." 

1877. 

The present year has brought but few events of spe- 
cial interest to the dwellers amid the pines. On New 



662 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDD^^GS. 

Years Day, along tlie hills of Bashi, snow fell about 
six inches in depth. Some snow remained on the 
ground for five days. The cotton crop of the year has 
been abundant, but the rains of November delayed the 
picking and impaired the quality. The quality of the 
sugar-cane was not equal to that of the year before; hnU 
quite a large amount of genuine, cane molasses has 
been made. If not perfect in quality, those who have 
eaten this have had the satisfaction of knowing that it 
was not manufactured out of (/hicose, and that it con- 
tained no sulphuric acid. The peach croj) has been 
abundant. In the latter part of the year quite a num- 
ber of families remcjved to Texas. 

November closed with a lower temperature than 
usual. Tliursday and Friday, Nov. 29 and 30, and 
Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 1 and 2, were cold days, 
with ice in the morning, the mercury near Grove Hill 
being at 21° F. and at Suggsville at 10'. During most 
of December the weather was delightful. The follow- 
ing " notes," as indicating something of the loveliness 
of such winter weather as may be experienced in this 
pine belt, are here inserted. They were written four 
miles south of latitude 82''. 

" 'th?: sunny soutji.' 

Deer. 14, 1877. 

If this day* may be taken as a specimen day, tlie 
name above is not inaptly given. I am now on a hill 
side, opposite the sun, in the region of the Bashi caves. 
The sun is shining on the hill sides around me, and on 
the cotton and corn fields of the ]>lantations, in the 
center of which these caves and hills and woods are 
situated. I find the shade on this eastern slope as 



THE PRESENT. 663 

]>loas;int a?^ it a .luiie snn were shining. Tlie air, for 
tlie most part, is still, and the stillness must be experi- 
enced to be appreciated. The air is soft, mild, agree- 
able. In the rays of the sun it is hot; but on this 
shaded slope one could lie down and sleep delightfully. 
A few sounds of busy or of flitting birds may be heard, 
some distant voices from a cotton field come occasion- 
ally, a slight rustle of a gentle breeze now for a moment 
is perceptible in the trees above me. and again all is 
silence, tlie silence of nature amid the warmtli and glow 
of the semi-tropical winter. If I could onl\' paint these 
massive hill-sides, where one hundred years ago the 
Choctaw Avarriors hunted; and these deep valleys, in 
the beds of which the sea shells have been reposing for 
ages; the massive rocks which are piled within them; 
and the sunny nooks where fair maidens have loitered 
with their companions; I could give a much more full 
idea of this charming solitude. 

I said. If this day may be taken as a specimen, this 
is well called the Sunny South. Yesterday, as I was 
climbing hills and crossing limpid streams, I felt the 
need of an umbrella, as in summer, to keep off the 
glowing heat of a clear sunshine. Day before yester- 
day it seemed like a Korthern May Day, when May is 
warm and very lovely. And many a bright, and still, 
and glorious day I have enjoyed during the last two 
months. There have been some cool nights and four 
cool days; but in a day or two the strong sunshine, 
''Strong,'' irresistible in the ])erfect silence but majesty 
of its power, sends away to some northern region every 
breath of cold. 

I have been revisiting some of the caves. I stopped 
on this hill-side to enjoy — this is a good climate to 



664 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

make one indolent — but time is pi-ecious with me, and 
I must leave this delightful, dreamy, existence, and go 
back again to my pursuits. 

This lias been to me a long bright day, but the sun 
is now far down the western sky. Although the mid- 
dle of December, I can say here, one more bright day 
of sunshine is added to the number which have gone 
before. One more day have the cotton pickers here 
busily improved. For one more day have the bright 
evergreens around me been bathed in golden light. 
The Northern doves are here, the mourning dove of an 
Indiana spring time, some robins and red-birds have 
arrived, and these all with me have enjo^^ed one more 
day of ever joyous sunshine. In a few more days I 
shall bid good bye to this sunny and well loved clime ; 
but the birds can stay till the coming May, for they 
liave no duties, no trials, no cares. Were I a bird I 
would stay as long as the birds stay. But now I leave 
this pleasant shade and retrace my steps through the 
mellow sunshine of the fast closing day.'' 

That very much of the glorious sunshine and 
delightful weather referred to above abounds in South 
Alabama during the winter months is well known to 
all residents and visitors ; although that dark arctic 
night, which settles around the North Pole, casts its 
shadow sometimes even to the bright Tro})ic of Cancer. 

One more extract from a jourjuil concerning the 
weather is here inserted : 

"Ten days including December 19th were delight- 
ful ; bright, sunny, warm spring and summer weather. 
20th cloudy, 21st and 22d, Friday an"d Saturday, 
showery. 23d, Sunday, rainy, still mild. 24th, Mon- 
day, a thunder storm in the morning, and a heavy 



THE PRESENT, 6H5 

rainfall. Repeated Hashes of sharp li^-litnin<;-, followed 
bv heavy thunder. One crash came while we were 
eating breakfast at J. H, Creigliton's. I felt the jar 
on one side, and, looking immediately out, saw a large 
pine about ten rods oif, scathed and riven " by the 
thunderbolt. 

Leaving the shadows, the showers, and the sun- 
shine, the following is the record of December mar- 
riages. 

:\rAKiiiKj). 

"On the evening of the 12th inst. near Grove Hill, 
by Rev. J. P. Chapman, Mr. ]). C. O'Gwynn, of P)Ut- 
lei- county, Ala., and Miss Emma Gordon, of Clarke."* 

''On the 11th of December, at the residence of the 
bride's mother, by Rev. W. W. Whatley, Mr. Charles 
S. Pace and Miss Lavenia S. Gwin, all of this county." 
tJannai'y publication. 

"In Grove Hill, on the SOth ult., by Rev. J. P. 
Chapman, Mr. M. B. DuBose and Miss Eliza J. Wil- 
son, all of Clarke county. 

Kear Grove Hill, on the 26th ult., by Rev. W. H. 
Dewitt, Mr. J. VV. Hicks and Miss M. E. Robinson, 
all of Clarke county. 

Near Clarkesville, on the 26th ult., by Esq. W. F. 
McCorquodale, Mr. J. N. Wilson and Amanda Stew- 
art, all of this county. 

Near Grove PTill, on the 26th ult., by Rev. John S. 
Frazer, Rev. J. S. Calhoun of the Mississippi Confer- 
ence and Miss Amelia Chapman, of Clarke county. 

Near Grove Hill, <m the 27th ult.. by Rev. J. H. 
Fendlev, Mr. James A. Hall and Miss Marv Flemino;, 
all of Clarke coinitv/' 



666 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Tlie following are the Justices of the Peace whose 
books were inspected by the proper authorities and 
found to be correct, in the spring of 1878, and who 
may therefore be considered the acting Justices when 
the 3'ear 1877 ch)sed: James W. Dickinson, "W. F. 
McCorquodale, M. Goodman, J. C. Chapman, A. B. 
Wilson, T. H. Bedsole, W. N. Molten, Stephen Tomp- 
kins, R. E.. Wiggins, E. M. Portis, J. F. DeLoach, G. 
AV. Ford, J. W. Cunningham, J. O. York, J. M. 
Williamson, W. 11. Slade, M. Harper, D. J. Bedsole, 
W. M. Davis, aud J. 8. Deas. 

COUNTY OFFICERS. 

Jack R. Wilson, Probate Judge, H. W. Burge, 
Sheriff, F. M. Moyler, Circuit Clerk, Jas. C. Savage, 
Tax Assessor, S. J. Parker, Tax Collector, H. M. Daw- 
son, Surveyor, T. J. Ford, Register in Chancery, R. 
J. Woodard, Sup't of Education, W. F. Woodard, 
Treasurer. 

Two secret societies, resembling the noted Cowbell- 
ions of Mobile, had processions and entertainments 
Christmas week. These were the "II. A. S." of 
Grove Hill and the "Infant Knights" of Jackson, the 
latter organized in 1875. The latter a})peaied in public 
on the night of the 24th " and gave an interesting 
entertainment for both the mind and the body." 

The " H. A. S." gave their first annual entertain- 
ment at the Female Academy in Grove Hill. Says the 
Democrat: "The procession of the 'H. A. S.' was a 
brilliant and grand affair, and was witnessed by a large 
and excited crowd, without regard to age, sex, color, 
or previous condition."''" 

* The author of this work luul the privih'^e of witnessing this procession, and 
was kindly furnished with a ticket which admitted him within the Academy nail. 



THE PRESENT. 067 

At Choctaw Conier a Cliristirias tree fiirnislied en- 
tertained for tlie children on Christmas Eve. 

On Friday evening, the 28th, at the Plon. J. S. 
Dickinson's, a private exhibition was given to a select 
audience, which was creditable to "the class," the 
young students who gave it, and interesting to the 
audience. 

Thus, marking certainly one hundred years of Amer- 
ican settlement within these surroundings, if not cer- 
tainly within this central table land between the rivers, 
thus, with showers and sunshine, Christmas gatherings 
and new marriage vows, with increased comforts in the 
present and increased hopefidness for the future, the 
year 1877 closed over a pleasant, a loveh-, a peaceful, 
and a prospering pcu-tion of our land. 

May the year of life close as hoi)efully for the 
dwellers in these peaceful homes, and the morning 
dawn for them and theirs amid the brightness of an 
Evergreen Shore. 



gleanings: 

Under this heading will be found various items, some 
things of interest to one class of readers, and some to 
other classes. Especially here are some things inserted 
coming after 1877, the year in which, according to the 
title page, the proper history in this volume ends. 

DOUBLE MARRIAGES. 

Two interesting cases have occui-red of double mar- 

IIc will not soon forgot the "IL A. S.,"' although of coursi' the disphiy \va^^ not so 
brilliant as the one he was privileged to sec in the streets of Mobile, a few nights 
afterwards, on New Years Eve. Societies and processions of this kind are of 
Southern origin, and, sometimes grotesiiuc; bin usually beautiful and brilliant 
are their displays. 



668 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

riages, but with more pleasant results than Tennyson's 
Enoch Arden or Whittier's David Matson, The intense 
sadness of the latter seems, indeed, almost too much for 
human endurance. 

The first of these was in the life of Mrs. Merrill. It 
may be remembered that at the house of her father, 
Abner James, near Bassett's Creek, she was scalped by 
the Indians and left, with her little son, among the dead. 
She however revived and with him gained the fort and 
recovered. Her husband was at this time absent with 
the troops under General Claiborne. On the march to 
the Holy Ground he heard of that massacre, and that 
his wife and child were among the slain. He was him- 
self severely wounded in that fierce battle, and the 
troops that returned to Clarke reported him as dead. 
He however recovered from his wounds, and having no 
desire to return to that home where all the light, as he 
had been credibly informed, had gone out, in the cruel 
death of his beloved wife and child, he made his way 
up into Tennessee. 

Mrs. Merrill remained in Clarke and after a few 
years married a man named Ilaltom, who resided near 
Choctaw Corner. Here she is said to have become 
again a happy wife and the mother of a large family. 
Years passed, some of these children liad nearly reached 
maturity, a home of abundance and of peace promised 
quiet and repose for her declining years. ^N^othing dis- 
turbed the even tenor of her way. But one night a 
traveller from Tennessee, with his middle-aged wife and 
family of children, on the way to Texas, sought a night's 
repose, in lier pleasant, hospitable home. Surprise, and 
consternation for awhile, took away almost the power 
of utterance, when in this Tennessean she recognized 



THE PRESENT. 669 

her former liiisbtind, and he recognized in lier, altliougli 
the dark tresses of shining hair were forever gone, his 
fondly loved and long lamented wife. Explanations 
followed, a pleasant visit was made, and then, content 
each with the arrangements of relations as now tliey 
were, the travelling party went on their way. 

The other case was more romantic. A young man. the 
name John alone need here be given, had man-ied a girl 
before the late civil war. Her name may be called Sally. 
She lived not very far from Coffeville. Her husband list- 
ened to the clarion calls that were summoning the men of 
the South to repel the Northern invaders from their soil, 
and it was reported and believed that he was left among 
tlie many dead on some Northern battle-field. Months 
passed rapidly by, amid the uncertainties and excite- 
ments of the times, and the hand of the young widow was 
sought in marriage by a widower of the county, who may 
here be called \Villiam. The new life for both was going 
smoothly along and they had reason to look forward to 
years of prosperity and happiness, when who should 
call suddenly one day upon William at his place ot 
business but the supposed dead John? The peculiar 
emotions of the former may be imagined. He however 
greeted cordially his old friend. They entered into 
conversation. John was informed that they had all 
supposed him to be dead. Presently John rose to go, 
he said he must go and find his wife. Dont go yet, 
wait a little, said his friend. And as long as he could 
he detained him. Finally William said. You kn'iw we 
all thought 3'ou was dead, Jolm, and Sally is married. 
Not an Enoch Arden, nor yet a David Matson. Juhn's 
hopes were not all crusjied. Anyhow he would go and 
see her. Well Jt)hn, Sallv is now mv wife; but we will 



670 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

leave it to her which one of us she will now have. To 
this John assented, and went on his way to tlie well 
known home. The meeting there is not to be here de- 
scribed. William followed not long afterward. As he 
glanced in and saw the now re-united pair, he foresaw 
the I'esult. He went quietly in and inquired what she 
intended to do. And Sally said, "I am going to take 
Jolin.'' And with no conflict, no quarrel, William 
retired from the neighborhood, leaving John i]i full 
possession of his former rights. 

What nobler course could two men and a woman 
have followed? Who does not rejoice in the success 
of John i Who does not admire the magnanimity of 
William ? '^ 



David White manufactured for his neighborhood 
twelve hundred and six gallons of molasses in 1877. 

Six hundred and forty-eight were of sorghum cane, 
and live hundred and fifty-eight were made of the true 
sugar or ''ribbon cane." The price of molasses, in 
consequence of home manufacture has been brought 
down from eighty cents to fort}'' cents a gallon. David 
White has been farming for about thirty years, and has 
usually raised his own corn and meat. He says that 
land which will raise thirt}' dollars' worth of cotton will 
raise hfty dollars' worth of corn and peas. 

PENSIONERS IN CLARKE IN 1879. 

1. Major J. Anstill. 

2. Drury A. Wade. 

3. Jacob Ott. 

4. John B. McCoy. 

* I would gladly perpetuate here the real and full names of these men, if the 
manner of my learning these facts left me at full liberty so to do. T. H. B. 



THE PRESENT. 671 

5. Mrs. Nelly Perritt, widow of Jolm I\MTitt wlio 
died ill 1865. 

All the above are pensioiiers of the war of 1S12. 
The lirst named, Major J. Anstill, died at his home 
near Carney's Bluff' Dec. 8, 1879. At this date three 
aged men remain among us as the representati^'es of 
the soldiers of that war. 

Five varieties of hills are easily recognized in this 
county. One variety is characterized by limestone 
rocks in regular layers upon the hill tops, and petrified 
and crumbling shells abundant in these rocks. Near 
Chalk Hill is one of this class, the highest hill in that 
part of the county. A second variety presents lime- 
stone rocks broken and also in ledges, porous, spongy, 
and without petrifactions. A fine example of this class 
is found eight miles from Grove Plill on the St. 
Stephens road. A third variety is a class of hills 
covered with hard, broken dark rocks, fragments of 
sandstone, of various sizes, resembling the remains of 
an old forge. A fine example of this class is near the 
residence of H. W. Burge. A fourth variety consists 
of hills covered with pebbles. 

The hills of the fifth variety are covered with sandy 
or limestone soil. Trees grow upon them all. Deer 
Lick Mountain is in Cane Creek beat, a part of the 
county where rocky hills abound. From its top mav 
be seen Prairie Bluff", Clifton, and Claiborne. It is 
said that a poor blind horse of the neighborhood, that 
was out grazing, was found upon the small, rocky, and 
precipitous summit of this hill dead. Step by step the 
blind animal had reached the top, had found itself unable 
to descend, and had there starved to death. It had gone 
up but it could not go down. Above it was the sky. 



672 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Round Hill, about a mile east of D. Bjn-crs, south 
of Choctaw Corner, is something like a cone or sugar 
loaf in form, perhaps one hundred and fifty feet in 
height. 

Salt Mountain, near Salt Creek, is quite mountain 
like in its tine appearance. Those who climb up its 
steep and somewhat rocky sides will be rewarded b}^ a 
fine view of the surrounding region. Pic-nic parties 
often used to visit this place, and here, retired almost 
from the world below, have lovers wandered and talked 
and dreamed of their own little world of present and 
prospective enjo)nnent. Wild fruits may be found 
about the mountain in their season, and merry children 
sometimes climb the height. A scene from the top 
one delightful afternoon, when an autumn red sun was 
sinking in the distant west, cannot be forgotten. Far 
away across the blue valley of the 'Bigbee, and in 
imagination it seemed beyond the Mississippi itself, 
the glorious sun was passing rapidly from sight. It 
seemed so far off to that world of light ; and valley 
and forest westward were magnificent in their colored 
hues of glory. 

The White Bluif is another noted eminence. It is 
not far south of Woods Bluff" and near the range of the 
Witch Creek hills. The estimated height of this bluff' 
is four hundred feet. There is a fine view from its 
summit toward the west and the north. It takes its 
name from the white limestone. It is a land-mark on 
the I'iver. It has three terraces with trees growing 
upon each. 

INDIAN MOUNDS. 

"Five miles north of Woods Bluff, in the river bot- 
tom, one half mile from the river, are two mounds 100 



THE PRESENT. 673 

yards apart, raised about ten feet above the level of the 
bottom, covering about one acre each, built of white 
sand, evidently carried from the river bars, more than 
a, half mile. A few willow oaks grow on them and 
about twenty mock oranges, apparently of about 300 
years' growth. At a depth of six feet, nothing but 
white sand shows itself. No reasonable conjecture has 
been formed as to their use, j)ossibly the residence of 
their chiefs. 

Northeast of these mounds one-half mile is an old 
field once used by the Indians for ball plays, where 
there is an extensive grave yard, with a large number 
of Indian bones, thickly buried. It is traditionally 
said that many tribes tore the flesh from the bones of 
tiieir dead, dried them on scaffolds and carried them 
hundreds of miles for burial. Again, east of this 
grave yard is a mound, in which were found some 
pieces of Indian pottery and a good many arrow 
heads. A. Carleton." 

Semi-tropical as well as tropical regions are often 
visited by terrific storms. Missionaries have given 
accounts of the fearful storms of wind and rain, accom- 
panied by lightning and thunder, that have at times 
proved so destructive among the beautiful coral-reefed 
islands of the South Sea. On our South-Atlantic and 
Gulf coasts the conflicts of the elements have been 
sometimes on a very grand scale. In 1772 one of 
those violent storms swept the coast south of the con- 
fluence of the two rivers of Alabama. At the mouth 
of the Mobile great destruction was produced. For 
thirty miles up the Pascagoula river " the cypress trees 
were prostrated and the pines twisted into ropes." 

In 1791 occurred the great "Yazoo freshet," when 
the high water destroyed the indigo plantations of the 
settlers along the Tombigbee. 

43 



674 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

From time to time storms and fresliets have since 
visited the valleys of these water courses and the table 
lands between. The highest water at the mouth of 
Bassett's Creek and in the Tombigbee, since that great 
freshet, is said to have been in 1874. The years of 
very high water in Bassett's Creek have been 1809, 
1862, nearly as high in 1872, one foot less in 1874. 
The lightning, when, after a lovely morning and the 
great heat of noon, the dark storm clouds suddenly 
gather, often strikes the tall pines, the natural light- 
ning rods of the pine belt, but very seldom has any 
one been injured by the electric fluid. Sometimes, 
too, the wind prostrates the pines along a narrow path, 
as in its mighty power it sweeps down for a moment 
from the dark folds of the storm cloud. At such times 
the roar of the tempest is magnificent, and the trees 
seem to go down as noiselessly as falling feathers. 
But no destructive cyclone or tornado, like those which 
have swept over Georgia, and Illinois, and Iowa, has 
passed for a hundred years across this river-guarded 
fortress. Heavy rain falls, however, quite often occur; 
and the many streams which bear this water to the two 
rivers are frequently so deep that they cannot for sev- 
eral hours be safely forded; and, as many of them are 
bridgeless, the boundaries of the beats are therefore 
arranged in reference to these water courses. 

Besides pine timber this peculiar belt is rich not 
only in cedar and cypress, but to some extent in oak. 
The size of the large oaks, red and white, has been 
mentioned. From these stave timber is cut and sent to 
Liverpool, England. These staves bring from $25. to 
$100. a thousand, according to length. Those fifty- 
eight inches long bring $75. Those sixty-six inches 



THE PKESENT. 675 

long, $100. Some trees six and eight feet in diameter 
bring forty and fifty dollars. The large trees are 
eighty feet in height. To enable the woodmen to cut 
these and also the large cy])ress trees seaifolds are often 
constructed. To cut them within i*each from the ground, 
where the large divisions for the roots have been 
formed, would be too laboi'ious. 



A well was bored in Good Springs beat, on section 
eighteen, township eight, range two east, iifty-two feet 
in depth. For the lirst twenty-six feet the anger passed 
through red clay, clay mixed with sand, it then pene- 
ti'ated a very hard rock about six inches thick, and for 
the last twenty-live feet its course was in a bed of shells 
imbedded in dark blue, almost black animal remains. 
The water then rose to the clay, and how much further 
down the shells continued is not known. Five varieties 
of shells were found here, some of them exactly like 
some of the Bashi cave shells. 



The intelligent reader has observed that what is 
generally regarded in this work as a part of Clarke was 
at first included in the county of Monroe. This county 
was formed by proclamation of Governor Holmes of 
Mississippi Territory, June 5, 1815. It originally in- 
<'luded about one half of the area of the present state 
of Alabama, but was soon divided into ot^ier counties. 
In 1818 an election precinct for Monroe was established 
at Choctaw Bluff; In 1819 one at Nicholson's store on 
Pigeon Creek; and in 1821 a precinct at Gainestown. 



67H CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDHSTGS. 

1878. 
" MARRIED. 

The nth Dec, by W. W. Arm stead, K P., Mr.Wm. 
Slade to Miss K. J. Kelly. 

Dec. irth, by Rev. W. H. DeWitt, Mr. Jno. T. Clark, 
Jr., to Miss C. D. Hicks. 

Dec. 19th, by S. Coale, Esq., Mr. Eobert Presnall 
to Miss M. A. Philips. 

Near Grove Hill, the 19th inst., by the Rev. John 
S. Frazer, Mr. J. W. Tompkins and Miss Willie Cal- 
houn. 

Also, the 19th, near Grove Hill, by A. B.Wilson, J. 
P., Mr.W. J. Presnall and Miss Sarah M. Robinson. 

Near Tallahatta Springs, this county, the 19th inst., 
by Rev. J. H. Fenkley, Mr. Jacob L. Goodman and 
Miss Carrie L.Wheeless, all of Clarke. 

Dec. 22d, by Rev. B. C. Glenn, J, D. Coleman and 
Sallie E. Gwynn. 

Dec. 2Tth, by D. J. Bedsole, Esq., J. D. Doyle to 
J. E. Miller. 

Dec. 12tli, by D. J. Bedsole, Wm. Giger to Sarah 
A. Truett. 

Dec. 29th, by D. J. Bedsole, G. W. Knight to Sarah 
A. Pelham, 

All of and in Clarke county." 

At Grove Hill on Friday July 19, 1878, a large bar- 
becue was given "under the auspices of 'The Colored 
Peoples' Memorial Society.' It was largely attended, 
almost every part of the county being represented. At 
night a procession was formed and the society marched 
and counter marched until a late hour. Good order 
was preserved and everything passed off peaceably." 

Clarke County Democrat. 



THE PRESENT. 677 

SPECULATORS. 

There were three men who entered hind as specuhi- 
tors, one of whom killed the land office receiver, whose 
general rei)utation seems not to be good. 

Their names need not be recorded here. As one 
illustration of dealing, the following is given on the 
authority of a credible living witness. A poor man, 
F. Scarborough, made a claim, opened land, raised corn 
sufficient for his family, and the speculator entered his 
land. The settler went to Mobile stated to the specula- 
tor the circumstances, and asked him if lie would not 
take the amount of the entrance money as paid at the 
land office and allow him as the actual settler to retain 
his land. The speculator said in reply that the settler 
might retain his land for ten dollars an acre. But this 
was more than he was able to pay, and he returned home to 
Clarke county to provide for his family a home in some 
other way. Result. That land lay unoccupied for 
about forty years. There were no sales; ther^ appeared 
no heirs. The land went to the state, probably for 
taxes. It has been redeemed by strangers. 

Those three unnamed speculators died, and one who 
knew their character well says, he is afraid they are 
not in heaven. The United States government has 
always offered the public lands for sale at cheap rates, 
and neither in the South nor West have the pioneer set- 
tlers and their descendants held in verj^ high honor the 
memory of the men who have caused them after all 
their hardships and privations, to pay more for their 
claims than the government price. At one time at St. 
Stephens, land was sold at sixty and even seventy dol- 
lars an acre. This was j^nblic unimproved land at the 
public sales in 1818 and 1819. The same high bidding 



678 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS, 

occurred at Huntsville; but when General Andrew Jack- 
son made a bid on a valuable tract between Tuscumbia 
and Florence, no one would bid against him, so he ob- 
tained his at two dollars an acre. 



There was organized at Grove Hill, April 2, 1879, a 
" Medical Society' ;" President A. Y. Bettis,Vice Presi- 
dent, G. W. Files, Secretary, B. W. Bush, Treasurer, 
Bryan Boroughs. Delegates to the State Medical Asso- 
ciation, B. S. Barnes and L. O. Hicks. Alternates, G. 
W. Files and .F. W. Fleming. The seven named above, 
while not including all, may be counted among the 
enterprising physicians of the county. At Choctaw 
Corner reside Dr. Mobley and Dr. Bettis ; and at 
Suggsville still resides Dr. Kivers also Dr. Krouse. 
At Gainestown is Dr. Davis, and at Grove Hill Dr. 
Chapman. 

Dr. L. O. Hicks of Jackson was married November 
15, 1878, to Miss Mary K. Chapman. 

Dr. S.V.Webb and Dr. B. M. Allen are the resident 
physicians at West Bend. Both are excellent men and 
physicians ; the one an earnest, zealous Baptist, the 
other a devoted, earnest, true Methodist. Dr. Allen has 
removed from the Mountain, and in this year of 1882 
he has lost hy death his noble-hearted wife. 



James Stkother Caller lived south of Suggsville. 
He died December 25, 1871, leaving a number of chil- 
dren. 

Miss M. Alice Caller, one of his daughters, taught 
a home school for some time. Afterwards she taught 
at Grove Hill with her sister, now Mrs. James. She 



THE PRESENT. 079 

then taught at Sumniertield and at Monroe, and at 
length became a member of tlie faculty at the Tuske- 
gee Female College. 

W. Kilpatrick, A. Kilpatrick, and G. H. Kilpatrick 
are three brothers at Wood's Bluff. 

SiL/VS DiNSMORE was the principal surveyor in the 
United States survey of Clarke county. 

Amdrkw HENsiiAwwas a deputy surveyor and aided 
to run out the first lines of the government survey in 
this county. He married the widow of Joseph Carson. 

BENGE. 

There was a settler of the above name on Pigeon 
Creek about 1816. He had at least two daughters and 
one son. He removed to Mobile where (in 1877) the 
son now lives — Harris C. Benge — being eighty-one 
years of age. Miss Benge, one of the daughters, was 

married in Wilcox county to McCurdy and 

removed to Mobile. Her son now keeps the McCurdy 
house in Mobile. He has a family of pleasant children, 
among them four daughters now called Annie, Pattie, 
Willie, and Bobbie. They will soon be educated young 
ladies, as they attend the city school, and they may 
remember that their great-grandfather, in one line, was 
once a resident in Clarke, 

COFFEEVILLE CEMETERY MEMORIALS. 

This cemetery was well selected and is well kept. 
Its appearance speaks well for the living. Its stone 
records speak of the dead. 

The Malone cemetery lot is forty feet by twenty- 
seven, is surrounded by iron railing, and contains 
eleven marble headstones and one monument. This 



680 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

marble monument is about nine feet in height. Erected 
to the memorj^ of Dr. Henry Cobb, from Southampton 
county, Virginia, who died March -i, 1854. 

Other records are Haywood Todd, born 1766, (iied 
June 21, 1827. 

Drury R. Malone, born March 13, 1800, died June 
21, 1847. 

Amanda F., wife of Jonathan Foscue, died Aug. 17, 
1858, twenty-seven years of age. 

Mary A. Malone, wife of George B. Malone, died 
September 11, 1842. Forty -five years of age. 

In a separate inclosure near the entrance of the 
cemetery is a carefully kept grave, the marble bearing 
this record: Mary Emeline, wife of J. Foscue, born 
May, 1851, died September, 1880. (She was a daugh- 
ter of ]Sr. Malone.) 

Other memorials. William Hawkins, born Decem- 
ber 13, 1808, died December 18, 1858. "Farewell 
dear husband till the morning of the resurrection." 
A broad gray stone, erected doubtless by a loving wife. 
A small iron enclosure is around the graves. 

Horace Reid Williams, born in South Carolina 
February 8, 1802, emigrated to Alabama 1810, died 
January 6, 1863. 

Another stone is erected to the memory of Mrs. 
Jane Cowart of Bellefonte, Ala., who died April 9, 
1834, in the twenty-seventh year of her age on her way 
home from New Orleans. An affectionate wife and a 
tender mother. 

So the passing traveller found here a place to rest. 

The Christianity that prevails liere leads, not only 
to the discharge of the duties of life, to cheerfulness 
and hopefulness of spirit, but also to care in regard to 



THE PRESENT. 681 

the resting places of the dead, teaching, as it does, 
that they will live again. 

Since 1877, the two remaining brothers of the 
Malone family have died. James B. Malone of Mobile 
died early in the year 1880, and X. Malone of Coffee- 
ville died early in Jul_y, 1881. Three sons of the latter, 
Ohakles p. Malone, a clerk in the store of J. Foscne, 
and two brothers remaining at home with their mother 
now represent this family in Clarke county. 

"tKIHUTK of respect to L. E. TnORNTON. 

The committee appointed to give expression to the 
feeling and sentiment of West Bend Church over the 
sad aliliction we have sustained in the death of our 
dearly beloved young brother, L. E. Thornton, respect- 
luUy submit the following : 

LeanderEarle TnoRNTON, son of Hon. E. S. Thorn- 
ton, was born the 25th day of November, 1856. His 
disposition was so amiable and his manners so uni- 
formly gentle, that even while a little boy, he attracted 
the attention and secured the affection of all good peo- 
ple with whom he came in social contact. And as he 
grew up in our midst, and approaching manhood exhi- 
hibited no abatement, but rather a confirmation and 
sti-engthening of those heavenly traits that had dis- 
tinguished his childhood, it was natural that we should 
all love him; but when on the l7th of October, 1872, 
he made a public profession of the religion of the Lord 
Jesus Christ and presented himself for membershi]> 
in this church, we felt that the solicitude of his par- 
ents had been mercifully rewarded ; that his action had 
illustrated, vindicated and exemplified the great benefits 
of early religious training, and that his past life gave 
a secure pledge of his future usefulness. We were not 
mistaken. Entering the University of Alabama, he, 
on the 4th of July, 1878, received the honorable degree 
of Master of Arts. Returning home, he immediately 



682 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

took charge of West Bend Academy which position he 
occupied until the 28th of July, 1880, when the "Mas- 
ter called him," and he is gone from earth forever! 

That we should grieve for him is as natural as that 
we should have loved him. 

That such a son should he the pride and joy, the 
comfort and stay of a father who is himself "treading 
upon the confines of eternity," and that nothing but 
the principles of the Christian religion could sustain 
his immediate relatives through such a trying bereave- 
ment none will deny. " But thanks be to God who giv- 
eth the victory," theirs is not the "bitterness of 
despair."' — They will never behold his natural form 
and face again, but the grace of God will enable them 
to rejoin him "on the shores of eternal deliverance," 
and both to them and to us is left the rich heritage of a 
spotless life, which we confidently hold up to the world 
as a triumphant vindication of the Cliristian Faith and 
an example of amiability, usefulness and integrity well 
worthy to be imitated by the youths of our country. 

J. R. Cowan, ) 
S. V. Webb, \ Committee. 
A. J. Pace, ) 
Adopted in conference, August 1, 1880, and ordered 
to be spread upon the minutes, also that one copy be 
furnished to the family of deceased and one each to the 
Clarke County Democrat and Alabama Baptist for 
publication. 

Geo. Parker, Moderator. 
A. J. Pace, Church Clerk." 

beautiful creeks. 

As streams of water can feel neither envy nor jeal- 
ousy, it may be safe among so many flowing stream- 
lets, so many little rivers, to name a few as specially 
beautiful. 

1. Silver Creek, on the east side of the county. 
This has a pretty name, which is said to have been given 



THE PRESENT. 683 

to it on account of some silver ore once t'ound on its 
bank. As no silver lias of late years been found there, 
some doubt may attach to the tradition. But the name 
remains. On this stream is a fall of eighteen feet, which 
can easil}"^ be increased to twenty -two feet. 

2. Satilpa. This is a pretty, winding, and truly lim- 
pid stream which flows into the Tombigbee through the 
Mitchell Reserve. The road from Grove Elill to Tulla- 
liatta crosses this stream. 

3. Fisher's Creek. This delightful little stream, with 
many a nice bathing place along its winding channel 
and amid thick shades, runs into Bassett's Crcek,flowing 
between Fort Sinquefield and Shady Grove. Drury's 
mill is on this creek not far from its mouth. 

4. Talhihatta is in the north-western part of the 
county. A good mill-seat is upon it, and it flows amid 
deep shades and also lands open to the sunshine. 

6. Rabbit Creek. This is a stream whicli no large 
road crosses. It heads about three miles south of Grove 
Hill and flows into Bassett's Creek about four miles 
east of Jackson. Its course is through quite dense 
woods. It is shady and cool, and the water seems to 
be as pure, as clear, as sparkling as a mountain stream. 
It is the creek for paper-mills. 

TIIK SIX(a.ET()N SPRINO. 

This is without much doubt the largest spring in 
the county. 

It is on the land of J. T. Singleton, on section 
14, south-east quarter, township 7, range 2 east. The 
spring comes up from a depth supposed to be fifty feet 
or more. Unfortunately it cannot easily be sounded. 
The reason why would be appreciated when the spring 



684 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

is seen. The "boil " is about four feet across and very 
strong. Two principal ones appear on the surface. The 
spring pool is about twenty-live feet across, the ground 
on the north, east, and west, around it being about ten feet 
above the water surface. The probability is that the force 
in the spring, if confined in a tube, would send the water 
up several feet above the present surface. The stream 
running from the spring is rapid, averaging some six 
feet across and two feet in depth. And day and night, 
year after year, this stream of water is flowing without 
any cessation and feeding liabbit Creek, into which it 
flows not far from the spring. The water is sometimes 
reddish, and sometimes has a milky appearance. But 
when it settles in a vessel and has again its usual clear 
blue or water crystal hue, very little sediment is found. 
It is said to contain mineral matter whicli makes it 
valuable as a mineral spring. Dr. Xeal Smith, in early 
times, lived near this spring, having a mill not far away 
on Rabbit Creek, and he is reported as having had at 
one time about one hundred boarders at his house for 
the purpose of being benefitted by this water. 

Rabbit Creek is probably the most beautiful stream 
of water in Clarke. Tlie water is very clear, cool, and 
constant in its flow ; the current is not impetuous but 
rapid ; the channel quite deep for its breadth ; and the 
whole well shaded. 

Between the Singleton spring and Mrs. Mathews, 
and near this creek, lives Mrs. Yann, an aged woman 
born about 1790, living with her daughter Mrs. Abi^er, 
who also has a fine spring. 



Clarke county contains forty-five school townships, 
which are either whole or fractional congressional town- 



THE PRESENT. 685 

ships, in each of whicli is one township school super- 
intendent, appointed b}^ the county superintendent. 
There were reported for 1879 in connection with the 
public school system of the State, and within the school 
age. 

White children in the county, 2253, 

Colored children in the county, 2614. 

Amount of money for the children of both 

races 13605.02 

In the most populous townships the white children 
are thus distributed: in township 9 range 3 east, 138; 
11, 3, 129; 9, 1, 110; 11, 2, 101; 8, 2, 92; 10, 1, 90; 8, 
3, 89; 8, 4, S5; 9, 2, 84; 9, 4, 84; 8, 1, 83; 7, 4, 43; and 
in 7. 5, 3. 

The public school fund does not as yet provide very 
fully for the education of the children, but the interest 
in public schools, especially among the colored race is 
on the increase. 



"The following is the number of inhabitants in the 
several beats of Clarke county: (1880.) 

Gainestown 1450 

Salt-works 1440 

Jackson 1013 

Suggsville 996 

Gosport 605 

McLeod's 372 

Grove Hill 1609 

Anderson's 562 

Walker Spring 555 

Bashi 693 

Choctaw Corner 1671 

Campbell's 963 



686 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Pleasant Hill 427 

Cane Creek 715 

Tallaliatta Springs 560 

Mitchams 422 

Clarkesville 573 

Coffeeville 1683 

Gates' 471 

River Hill 604 

Good Springs 442 

Total ' . . . . 17826 



There were about three thousand votes polled in the 
county at the late election, of which about 1650 were 
white and 1350 colored." 

DISTANCES. 

From Grove Hill to Elam 20 miles nearly, thence to 
Pineville 14 miles, to Tuskaloosa 8 miles, to Mt. Ster- 
ling 4 miles, to Pushmataha 14 miles, to Ebenezer 15 
miles, to Meridian 13 miles. In all from Grove Hill 
to Meridian across the country S8 miles. From Mobile 
by rail to Meridian 135 miles, to Columbus 337 miles, 
to St. Louis 200 miles, to Chicago 280. In all from 
Mobile to Chicago 942 miles. 

Mt. Sterling is a small, pleasant village in Choctaw 
county, four miles from the Tuskaloosa landing. It is 
distant from York on the railroad thirty-two miles, 
trom Bladon Springs thirty-three miles, from Livingston 
forty miles, and from Quitman forty miles. 

Its founder was S. E. Catterlin, born at Hamilton, 
Ohio, in 1810, who came to Marengo county in 1828 
with nothing, so far as property was concerned, and 



THE PRESENT. 687 

receiving twelve dollars a month for plowing, began to 
accumulate. He spent the first year two hundred and 
iifty dollars, came over into Washington county, was 
married in 1831 to a daughter of James Mill, founded 
Mt. Sterling about 1832, built saw mills, read law, be- 
came a lawyer, gained wealth, became a strong seces- 
sionist, was one of the few who in the state convention 
carried the state of Alabama cnit of the Union, and lost 
by the war that followed three hundred thousand dollars. 
In 1S67 he left Mt. Sterling and now resides at Ashley, 
Illinois. He has been through life a temperate man, 
and is now energetic, active, decided and vigorous. 

The finest residence near Mt. Sterling was built by 
B. ^ Turner in 1860, costing five thousand dollars. It 
is. for this region, a large and stately looking mansion. 
It is now the residence of two brothers, Henry L. 
Gaines and Vivian P. Gaines. These are grandsons 
of Dr. Joseph B. Earle of Clarke, and grandsons of 
George Strother Gaines of St. Stephens, who was United 
States factor there and in Sumter county for fourteen 
years. They are nephews of Abner S. Gaines of Mo- 
bile, a son of George S. Gaines, and they are cousins 
of Dr. Edmund P. Gaines of Mobile. Edmund P. 
Gaines of the United States Army, was an elder brother 
of George S. Gaines, and the Hon. Francis Strother 
Lyons of St. Stephens and Demopolis is a nephew. 

The father of these two brothers, the owners of the 
Tuskat^e^atanding on the Tombigbee, was George W. 
Gaines, who died in 1853. 

Where was the old Maubila ? 

On page 27 some reasons are briefly assigned for a 
location at French's landing instead of at Choctaw 
Bluff. 



688 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

A personal interview with Commissioner J. M. Jack 
son, since that page was written, has secured the fol- 
lowing facts. 

1. The springs and streams are verj^ much alike at 
the two places. (The reader will please let this state- 
ment correct one on page 27.) 

2. Spanish bridle bits were found at French's land- 
ing. The only one of these known to be now in exist- 
ence is, or was, in the possession of David Henshaw, a 
druggist at Boston, whose brother, Captain Andrew 
Henshaw, was here a number of years ago. 

3. Many arrow heads are found here. 

4. Much pottery has been found here. 

5. An old burial ground is here. Bones have been 
washed out, pots of bones have been found here in the 
bank of the river. Well preserved teeth have been 
found. 

6. A great many bullets were found here. More 
than a peck measure full were found at one time. 

7. There is an Indian mound here, circular, some 
forty feet in diameter. For these facts, J. M. Jackson, 
who lived for some years at this landing, who now re- 
sides at the Gainestown landing is good authority. 

Choctaw Bluff and French's landing are but a few 
miles apart, and the river flows by each in the same di- 
rection. 

A granddaughter of Samuel Mims, Mrs. Jane Pee- 
bles, now about sixty years of age, is living on the 
Alabama, near Peach Tree, in Clarke county. 



A grandson of Governor Murphy, John T. Murphy, 
has come into the county and is now running a saw-mill. 



THE PRESENT. 689 

which liecoinmenced in 187"^, on section 8, north-east 
quarter, townsliip 6, range 3 east. He is doing a large 
business. His father, Dr. Robert M. Murphy, lived in 
Clarke for some years, at the present Forwood place, 

Gosport. 

Joseph Ulmer, a pupil at Grove Hill in 1855, a mild, 
gentle boy then, with beautiful blue ej^es, married Miss 
Clara Howze, a granddaughter of Colonel Alston. 
Miss Mary Howze was married to Melancthon Smith, 
who edited the Mobile Evening News. James Howze 
w^as married in Texas to Miss Jones. Some of these, 
once children in Clarke, reside in Lamar county, Texas. 



Proper names are variously written. The first courts 
of Clarke county were ordered to be held, according to 
the territorial Acts at the house of John Lauhdrum. In 
the Clarke county records the name is written Landrum. 
Some write Gwynn, and some Gwinn. Some Prim and 
some Prym. Some write White and some Whyte. 
And so with manv other names. 



The following will be of interest to those in the 
county of Clarke who have noticed the changes in the 
ownership of land. 

THE LANDRUM ESTATE. 

The special interest attaching to this locality is on 
account of the fort and the first courts of the countv. 

John Landrum, sometimes written Laundrun, — the 
former is the deed orthography — died before 1826, 
probably as early as 1824. 

Tlie executrix of his estate, whose name is signed 
44 



690 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

''Caty Wilson,'" sold to Abner Wilson, who seems to 
have been her second husband, for two hundred dol- 
lars, one hundred and sixty acres in section eighteen, 
township eight, range two east, March 6, 1S28. 

To the name, Caty Wilson, is affixed the signiiicant 
words, "her mark." Joel Bell was then county clerk. 
She also sold, June 6, 1S2S, for two hundred dollars, 
forty acres more. 

In 1841 William Cleaver, sheriif, deeded to James 
Savage three of these forties from Abner AYilson. In 
January, 1845, they were deeded to John E. Franklin 
for three hundred and forty dollars. In October, 1849, 
John E. Franklin deeded this land to Henry, Joseph 
C, and Benjamin Franklin for the same sum. Henry, 
J. C, and Benjamin Franklin deeded to James Valen- 
tine the three forties, Feb. 3, 1855, for eight hundred 
dollars. Land was then high. But. at the same time, 
Thomas B. Franklin, into whose hands the Cjuarter 
section on which Landrum lived had come, sold that 
with two other forties to James Valentine for two hun- 
dred dollars. This land was probably '"worn out.'' 
James Valentine died. 

The three forties named with these additional forties 
were then conveyed in December, ISTT, to Levi Val- 
entine, a brother of James, for four hundred dollars, 
by Hester Ann Valentine, the widow, Frances Rebecca 
Porter, Sarah Ann Bumpers, and Mary Jane Valen- 
tine, daughters, and F. M., James Wesley, M. E., M. 
M., and John F. Valentine, sons. Levi Valentine 
then, in Dec. 1877, conveyed the six forties, for four 
hundred dollars, to John P. Booth. That Mrs. Caty 
Wilson, who it is inferred was Mrs. Landrum, should 
in 1828 make her ''mark'' is not strano-e. But it 



THE PRESENT. 691 

seems a little singular that on the deed of December, 
1877, there should also be found "his mark," "her 
mark." 

The quarter section owned by James Valentine, on 
which Landrum lived, where the iirst courts of the 
county were held, where the fort was, and where is 
now the old burial place of their dead, was sold to 
Wesley Robinson and Ste])heii Chapman. This was 
the north-east quarter of the section. 

TUE WEATIIEK. 

In July 1807 the n:iercury in this region -did not rise 
above 94^ F. The mean heat of the month was 86°. 

The greatest cold of 1808 was in February. Then 
the mefcury sunk to only 43°. 

From the Clarke County Democrat, of Thursday 
January 9, 1879. 

"The weather, for the past few weeks has been 
unusually cold and unpleasant for this latitude. Satur- 
day morning last the temperature was 18 degrees. 
Early in the afternon snow commenced falling and 
continued to fall until about 10 o'clock Sunday morn- 
ing, covering the ground to the depth of about six 
inches — surpassing, we suppose, any snowfall known 
here since the settlement of the county. Sunday 
morning was about as cold as Saturday, but by Mon- 
day morning it had grown much colder, and mercury 
had falleii to 6 degrees, being the lowest point we ever 
knew it to reach in this latitude. Tuesday morning it 
was at 9 degrees and yesterday morning 34." 

TniDecember of 1880 another snow-fall took place 
in Clarke, depth about six inches, and the temperature 
quite low, the snow and ice lasting several days and 
giving the inhabitants and the stock also quite an illus- 



692 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

tration of a northern winter. Again in the latter part 
of January, 1881, came yet another fall of snow with a 
warmer temperature, so that the children could roll 
the snow into large balls and build snow men and 
snow forts. This snow fell to the depth of several 
inches, and some of it remained about a week. It was 
enjoyed by the children very much. In December, at 
the time of the snow, between Christmas and Xew 
Years, ice w^as formed sufficiently strong at latitude 34° 
to bear a mule, and at 32° to bear a man. 

PERIODICALS. ' 

The first newspaper within the "surroundings'' of 
Clarke was called "• The Halcyon," and was pub- 
lished at St. Stephens by Thomas Eastin in 1814. 

The second was the " Mobile Gazette axd Gen- 
eral Advertiser," published by Cotton at Mobile in 
1816. 

The third was "The Clarion," at Claiborne in 
1820. 

Before any of these the "Madison Gazette " had 
been started at Huntsville, in ISTorth Alabama, in 1812. 

The first in the county of Clarke was The Clarke 
County Post, published at Suggs ville, by Benjamin 
M'Cary, commenced in April, 1836. 

The first copy of the Clarke County Post bears date 
Suggsville, " Monday evening, April 25, 1836." The 
first article in this first issue is the Declaration of In- 
dependence made by the people of Texas in their con- 
vention held at the town of Washington March 2*1836. 
The following is the published list of those for whom 
letters were in the post office, April 1, 1836, William 
F. Jones, postmaster: Capt. Jas. V. Allen, B. E. 



THE PRESENT. 693 

Brooks, Rev. D. B. Barlow, James G. Callier, Hiram 
Creighton, Mrs. Priscilla Darby, Wm. P. Darby, John 
Deau, Mrs. Ann Embree, Zachariali Findly, Wm. 
Fountain, John French, Mrs. Lyndy Fisher, Wm. 
Graham, W. M. Harrison, Richard Hopkins, Eaton 
Johnson, James Kirk, Robert Lee, Daniel A. Monroe, 
Mrs. Mary Murphy, Hon. John Murphy, John Myrick, 
Miss Ann Marks, Joel Tarleton. 

The store of G. W. Creao;h is adv^ertised on the 
corner of Broadway and Pearl streets, at Suggsville ; 
also the store of Cogburn & Lenoir, on Line street, one 
door north of Broadway. 

This issue also contains quite an amount of Texas 
and Florida war news. It mentions the death of Mrs. 
Elizabeth O'l^eal, sixty-live years of age. The last 
number of the Post at hand bears date August, 1837. 
Whether any further numbers were issued cannot now 
be easily ascertained. The editor removed to Missis- 
sippi where he died many years ago! 

The second in the county was the Macox Baxxer. 

S. C. Stkamler was the first editor of the Banner, 
the fifth number of which paper bears date Deer. 18, 
1841. 

Megginson and Straniler were publishers. At this 
time G. D. Megginson kept the Macon Hotel; E. J. 
Rollings was a coach repairer; James Lankford, John 
Stokes, James M. Gilbert, Abner Wilson, and Samuel 
Creighton had lately died ; and Terrill Powers was 
county clerk. This number of the Banner contains an 
address to the farmers of the United States concerning 
a Xational Society of Agriculture, signed by Solon 
Robinson, ''Lake C. H." Indiana, April, 1841. The 
author of this address, for many years a citizen of 



694 CLAKKK AND ITS- SURK01.NDIXGS. 

Crown Point, Indiana, now resides at Jacksonville^ 
Florida. He haj; lived to see the National Grange. 
S. C. Stramler is said to be now living in Mobile. 

George Washington Megginson was one of the first 
publishers. In August, 1S46. the publishers were W. 
T. Megginson *i: Co. and in October, 1S46. they were 
Brickel A: Megginson. In 1S47. it* not before, the ex- 
istence of this paper was terminated. 

The third paper of the county was the SorxHERN 
Recorder, Gideox B. M asset editor and proprietor. 
The first number was issued Jan. 6. 1S47, in which the 
editor speaks of having recently purchased the Macon 
Banner office with the press and all the priistiug 
material. F. A. Duvall seems io have been the first 
printer or compositor, and James Doyle the second. 
D. Daffin was connected with the office in 1S49 as 
••publisher" — which word in this paper seems only to 
mean printer — and in November of this year he pur- 
chased the offic-e ^nd the Southern Recorder was no 
longer issued. 

Gideon B. Massey went to Mobile. He became an 
officer on a river steamer, then an inventor. One of 
his inventions was a steam guage, and one a new 
method of letting down a life boat. He sold goods in 
Mobile in the time of the war. He afterward removed 
to the city of New York, where, so far as known, he 
still resides. It is understood that from his various in- 
ventions he has realized quite a fortune. 

The fourth county paper was called Grove Hill 
Herald, afterwards The Grove Hill Herald, Derusha 
Dafftx editor and proprietor. The first number was 
issued Dec. 5, 1S49. February i?7. 1S50. the first edi 
torial appeared of James T. Figures as joint editor and 



JIIK PRESENT, fj95 

]jroprietor. In the fall of 1853 J. T. Figures died and his 
interest in the paper was sold, about January 1, 1854, to 
Jamks AV. Spalding. About March 1, 1854, D. Baffin 
sold his interest to a lawyer, Rl'fus L. P?:rkins, from 
^fobile. In March, 1856, the Herald was discontinued, 
and the press and material were soon after sold to 
\yilliam B. Crossland and taken to Monroe county 
where a paper was published called the Claiborne Amer- 
ican. R. L. Perkins died about 1864 in Mississippi. 
J. W. Spalding has lately been residing in Mont- 
gomery. 

The fifth paper of the county was the Clakkf: 
County Democrat, the publication of which was com- 
menced January' 31, 1856, and has been continued until 
tlie present time. 

Isaac Grant, the Editor and Proprietor of the 
Democrat, came to Grove Hill in December, 1855, 
from Marengo county. Having been connected for two 
or three previous years with the Jeffersonian at Lin- 
den, and finding an opening at Grove Hill, he soon 
began the publication of the above named paper. 

September 22, 185S. he was married to Miss Maky 
Melissa Puoh. daughter of E. Stewart Pugh residing 
near Grove Hill. 

Tiiey have now two sons. Isaac S. and Bryan TV.. 
and three daughters, Mary E., Annie Lee, and Mittie 
May. Miss Mary E. Grant is now a young lady, and 
gives indications of rich promise for becoming a noble 
woman. She and her parents are members of the Bap- 
tist church at Grove Hill. Annie Lee and little Mittie 
are still in their young girlhood, but there they can not 
long remain. For some years the family resided in 
Grove Hill, but they are now living on their planta- 



696 CLARKE AND ITS SUKKOUXDIXGS. 

tion. about tliree miles from town, surrounded by all 
the comforts of this reo^ion. The road leadino; to the 
family home is a private carriage way, passing amid 
some picturesque scenery. The friend or stranger, 
who wends his way westward from the printing office 
and town, and finds this hospitable home, is sure of a 
pleasant and quiet resting place; and. if he enjoys the 
society of the young and knows hon: to gain their confi- 
dence, he will be delightfully entertained by some very 
lively, and lovely, and interesting children. Children 
in 1S77. but how soon they will be amid the cares of 
life: 

Mrs. Grant, in 1S52, was a pupil of the Grove Hill 
Academy: and for the teachers then she still retains, in 
her noble nature, a living friendship. 

The editor of the Clarke Cor>'TT Democrat is as 
different from the ideal formed in some parts of the 
country of a Southern political editor, as a man well 
could be. While a true son of the South, and also a 
firm and zealous democrat in politics, he is a clear- 
minded, earnest, Christian patriot, loving his country 
and seeking to promote the best interests of the people, 
urging no rash or hasty measures, but taking fair and 
large views of the circumstances in which the nation is 
now placed. He is an advocate of moral reforms, con- 
servative and yet advancing, an officer in the church of 
which he is a member, an excellent husband, and 
father, and friend. Were there more such editors, both 
Xorth and South, the political atmosphere would be far 
more pure. The Democrat has now been published 
more than twenty-one years, the other four papers 
scarcely filling up — from April 1S36 to March 1S56 — a 
period of twenty years: and, although its subscription 



THE PRESENT. 697 

list is not so large as it ought to be, it bids fair to live 
for 3'ears yet to come. So long as it is controlled by its 
present judicious and upright editor it deserves richly 
a large success.* 

SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS. 

At the head of these may be named the Masonic 
Lodges. 

Mason Lodge No. T (taking the number ot Russell- 
ville Lodge Xo. 7, disbanded) opened under dispensa- 
tion in January, 1843. Isham Kimbell W.M. , Robert 

B. Patterson S.W., George D. Megginson J.W, 
James PL Saint, H. W. Coate, Caleb Moncrief, and 
Joseph P. Portis, brethren. Visiting brethren present, 
Samuel T. Barnes, Meil Ezell, George Clothier, Wm. 
R. Hamilton, Wm. Cleaver, AVm. B. Curtis, and Rev. 

C. Pritchett ; all, or nearly all, members of Marion 
Lodge No. 12, at Suggsville, which seems to have been 
the tirst Masonic Lodge opened in the county. -Henly 
W. Coate was elected the first Secretary, James H. 
Saint Treasurer, Caleb Moncrief Tyler. First initia- 
tions George W. Megginson. Wm. Kennedy, and Wm. 
W. Alston. 

At the next meeting Wm. McConnell, Joseph Cham- 
bers, W. A. Robinson, and Samuel Forwood were 
visitors. 

In 1846 I. Kimbell was again elected W.M., C. 
Moncrief was S.W., and Cyrus Allen J.W. Joseph P. 

♦C'onntinfr to this year of 1S82 tlic Democrat, ciilled from Xov. 18, 18(W till 
Nov. 22, 18ti0 "Clarke County .loiirniil," witli one editor and proprietor, himself a 
practical printer, has entered upon its second quarter of a century; ami its editor, 
in one more year, will reach his silver wedding. May life and its blessinirs be long 
continued to him and his. One of the "foremost"' among twenty thousand must be 
the man who for twenty-tive years has controlled the only paper and printing-presis 
within his county. T. H. B 



698 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Portis was Secretary. His handwriting is iinusnally 
plain and regular. Indeed this lodge has been fortu- 
nate in having tor secretaries excellent penmen, 
especially, after J. P. Portis, John B. Savage, D. Da'- 
fin, and R. J. Woodard. December 27, 1846, took 
place a masonic funeral, the burial services of brother 
Stephen Williamson. Macon Lodge by this time had 
quite a large membership. Among the members now 
was John Scarborough. 

In 1847 James S. Dickinson was elected W.M. 
which position he has held for about tliirt}^ years. 

In April 1854 W. J. Hamilton, P. C. Andoe, D. 
H. Portis, and Thomas Carter were elected members. 
In the years before this date, 1854, many prominent, 
useful, and Christian citizens became members of this 
order, and since that time a number of the same class 
have become working members. 

Lodges were formed at Suggsville, Jackson, CoiFee- 
ville, and at Choctaw Corner ; also a chapter at Suggs- 
ville. The lodge at Choctaw Corner, Oliver Lodge, 
ISTo. 334, which meets monthly, the first Saturday, and 
the Grove Hill Lodge meeting the fourth Saturday "at 
11 A.M.," are the only ones now working in the county. 

Divisions of the Sons of Temperance, as alreadv 
mentioned, were at one time flourishing and doing 
much good ; also a section of Cadets of Temperance ; 
also, afterwards, lodges of Good Templars ; but now, 
in 1882, none of these are in existence. Thej^ are of 
the past. Their work is done. In this year of 1882, 
commencing with Januar}^ 1, prohibition, b}' legisla- 
tive enactment, prevails in the county of Clarke, as also 
in several other counties of the state of Alabama. 

Granges were organized of the order known as 



THE PRESENT. 699 

Patrons of Husbandry, in 1S73 and 1874. In 1S75 
there were granges at Grove Hill, Choctaw Corner, 
Rural, Suggsville, Bashi, Jackson, Salem, West Bend, 
CofFeeville, Airmount, Tallaliatta church, Gosport, 
Dead Level, County Line, New Prospect, Winn's Mill, 
Gainestowm, and Tallaliatta Springs ; in all eighteen. 
Only two of these seemed to have an existence as late 
as 1877. One was Rural, David Griifin, Master ; the 
other was Bashi grange. No. 396, oi-ganized Jan. 12, 
1874, present membership thirty-three, H. C. Gray- 
son, Master. This grange is composed of farmers. 
They meet on Saturday before each third Sabbath, 
always take their dinners and have two sessions. In 
December 1877, they had missed but one meeting, 
which was on a very rainy day, and they lacked one 
member of having a. quorum. 

CENSUS FIGURES. 

The following recapitulation and figures will surely 
present some items of interest and perhaps of surprise 
to all thoughtful citizens of the county. 

Li the year 1800 the present state of Alabama was 
included in the Missisippi Territory. The United 
States census gives to Alabama for that year, white 
population, 733 ; colored, 517. 

And these are given for the county of AYashington. 
In 1810 two other counties had been added, Baldwin, 
and Madison in the north of the state. 

Census report for 1810. 

Washington count}': White, 2,0lo ; colored, 910. 

Baldwin county: White, 667; colored, 760. 

In 1820 there were settlements in twenty-four 
counties; in 1830, in thii-ty-six counties; and in 1870, 



700 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

when the hist census was taken, there were in Alabama 
sixty-live counties. 

There are now sixty-six counties, Culhnan county, 
in the north of the state, having been formed in 18T6. 

The state at the last census had a population: White, 
521, 38J:; colored, 475,510. 

Clarke county, of course, is first found in the census 
reports for 1820. The following are the six reports: 

1820 1830 1840 1850 1860 1870 

White, 3,778 3,894 4,228 4,901 7,599 7,098 
Colored, 2,061 3,701 4,412 4,885 7,450 7,565 

Three counties in the state, Mobile, Madison, and 
Jackson, contained in 1870, twice as many white inhabi- 
tants as Clarke; Mobile containing about four times as 
many. Twenty-six counties contained a less number of 
white inhabitants. Forty-four counties contained a less 
number of colored inhabitants. 

It appears from the above table of reports, that 
between 1820 and 1830 Clarke county gained, 

In White In Colored 

Inhabitants. Inhabitants. 

116 1,640 

Between 1830 and 1840 334 711 

Between 1840 and 1850 673 473 

Between 1850 and 1860 2,698 2,565 

Between 1860 and 1870 (lost) 501 115 

The business interests of the county are largely con- 
nected as formerly with the cultivation of cotton. 
This is yet the reliable ^^roduct for obtaining money. 
It has a changing but a sure value. Like tobacco in 
the days of the Virginia colony it will bring less or 
more European gold every year. It is now bought by 
all or nearly all the country merchants, and is as good 
as money up to its market value. 



THE PRESENT. 701 

The amount of business done by the different mer- 
chants lias not been fully ascertained. 

The following are some quite reliable figures: Jack- 
son contains seven stores. Its present annual business 
may be placed at $75,000. 

The annual business of Choctaw Corner may be 
safely placed at $40,000. 

James L. Clark, Bashi, about $15,000. 
Lower Peacli Tree, business $100,000. Annual 
shipment of cotton from two to three thousand bales. 

.T. D. OOWAX * COMPANY. 

The above is the title of a business house near the 
old Baslii store, where the Bashi post office is at pres- 
ent kept. Business was commenced here one year 
ago. Amount of business for the jear about $6,500. 

From the store of W. H. F. VVaite, the half-way 
place on the old Clarksville and Jackson road, are 
shipped to Mobile, beeswax, hides, poultry, eggs, wool, 
and cotton. One cake of beeswax weighed two 
hundred and twenty-eight pounds. A hundred dozen 
of eggs have been shipped in one week. 

The business of Grove Hill, CofFeeville, Suggsville, 
and Gainestown, not ascertained. 

The annual shipment of cotton from the county may 
be placed at from six to seven thousand bales; bushels 
of corn raised, about two hundred and fifty thousand; 
bushels of sweet potatoes, about fifty thousand. 

In the year 1870 the real estate was valued at 
$942,296, and the personal at $282,118, making in all 
$1,224,414. Less than sixty-two thousand acres of 
land were then reported as improved, and nearly four 
hundred thousand as unimproved. As the county con- 



702 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

tains about seven hundred and sixty-eight thousand 
acres that report could not have been very accurate. 
Many of the United States census figures are not very 
reliable. Perhaps the census of 1880 may be obtained 
before all these pages are printed. It is to be hoped that 
that census may prove to be more reliable. In the 
way in which it has been taken, however, for some 
Clarke county items it cannot be full and accurate. 

The trouble lies with the Washington officials, under- 
taking things which they cannot or do not accomplish. 
This last statement applies largely to school and 
Sunday-school statistics. 

The mail routes from Grove Hill for the year 1877 
are five, two being semi-weekly and three weekly, mak- 
ing in all seven mails in and seven out, or fourteen 
mails each week. 

On all these routes the mail is carried on horseback. 

Stamps sold at (irove Hill during this year amounted 
to about eighty dollars. Stamped envelopes and postal 
cards amount to about the same. There is no money 
order ofiice in Clarke, AVashington, Choctaw, or Monroe. 
In Marengo there is one, and in Wilcox one. Increased 
mail facilities are de^rable. 

ROADWAYS. 

There are in this county public roads of two varie- 
ties. These lead from Jackson, from Cofieeville, from 
Gainestown, from Suggsville, from Choctaw Corner, to 
Grove Hill; and from each of these places named, 
either directly or by way of Grove Hill, to each other 
place named. Public roads also lead from these places 
named to a few landings on the two rivers. These 
roads are "posted" and worked. There are also 



THE PKESENT. 708 

^'settlemeTit roads," to some extent worked, on wliieli 
largely the families reside, comparative!)' few livino- on 
the public or "big roads." 

There are also abandoned settlement roads, and also 
" trails," old trails and new trails, which may be safely 
travelled now by those who understand the geography 
of the county. Some of these lead across wild, pictur- 
esque, and beautiful portions of country. These path- 
waj's, old trails, and early settlement roads, cross the 
county in various directions. No part of the most 
dense wilds is absolutely pathless. These trails do 
not, of course, cross every square mile; but one will 
not travel many miles in any one direction without 
crossing some. The word "posted" above means 
having mile posts, which mile posts are, on these long 
and lonely roads, very agreeable objects. 

Among these gleanings a few more facts are now at 
hand concerning early settlers in West Bend. 

Lewis Mitchell came from South Carolina with a 
large family, making still another of the West Bend 
settlers of about 1809. He was a highly respectable 
citizen. Most of this family are now dead, a few grand- 
children only being counted among the living. 

Andy Martin, also with a large family, came about 
the same time, in 1809 or 1810. He too was a respec- 
table citizen, probably from Georgia, and later in life 
became a Baptist church member. He has as represen- 
tatives now many grandchildren ajid great-grandchild- 
ren, among the latter a young man of talent and 
much promise, I. Walter Martin of West Bend. 

Bridges Onkal or O'Neal came here also at about 
the same time, and with a large family. He was a good 
citizen, the stoutest man physically in the wliole region. 



704 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

One of his daughters, now Mrs. Mobley, some seventy- 
five or eighty years of age. is living in the south part of 
Marengo, where many of his grandchiklrennow reside. 

Sons-in-law of John White who was formerly men- 
tioned, the head of the large "White family, were 
Thomas Fkazer and Jabez York, who became residents 
in West Bend at about this same time. They have 
grandchildren and great-grandchildren as representa- 
tives still in the county. 

Aakon Bkook was also a settler here about 1810. 
He came with his wife and four children. They re- 
moved to Conecuh or to Butler county. Of the real 
pioneers of West Bend there now remain John W. 
Thornton, E. S. Thornton, Mrs. Martha Pace, John 
Pace, John D. Dungan, William Pace of Camden, 
Arkansas, and Mrs. A. O'Xeal Mobley of Marengo, 
all having been for many years members of Baptist 
churches. 

THE PIXE LEVEL PURCHASE. 

This purchase was made October 1815, from Josiah 
Carney and Thomas Strang, then citizens of Baldwin 
county. After the town was laid off lots were sold at 
public sale, Abel Fan-er, auctioneer. A second public 
sale of lots, Reuben Reynolds auctioneer, occupied three 
days, July 1, 2, 3, 1817. (Four of the first commis- 
sioners were Benjamin Bedell, David AYhite, David 
Taylor, and Reuben Saffold.) 

This second sale had been advertised for three 
months in the Mississippi Halcyon, the Mississippi Re- 
publican, the Georgia Journal, and the Huntsville 
Gazette. 

Rev. William Cochran was formally rec^uested to 
select a lot for a Baptist church building, and P. F. 



THE PRESENT. 705 

Bayard was requested to select for a Methodist church. 
One square was reserved for a Presbyterian church, and 
one for a masonic h)dge. 

At this time the county of Baldwin, named after 
Abraham Baldwin, a native of Connecticut and founder 
of the University of Georgia, extended from latitude 
31'' to the fifth township line and was west of the Toni- 
bigbee. except a part between the two rivers. The 
Gullet Blufl' and Fort Carney were therefore then in 
Baldwin county. 



On the " river road " from Jackson to Coffeeville, 
about two and a half miles from Jackson is a small 
burial ground surrounded by a trench. Within is one 
marble slab with this inscription: " Elias H. DuBose, 
born August 19, 1796, died September 28, 1873. 'Gone, 
but not forgotten.' " 

MARRIED DECEMBER 1879. 

"Dec. 18th, by Rev. J. W. Dickinson, Mr. Frank 
P. Carter and Miss M. Willie Fountain, all of 
Clarke. 

We return thanks for the large piece of beautiful 
cake sent us, and wish the happy couple long lives of 
peace and prosperity. 

" The world was sad, the garden was a wild ; 
And man, the hermit, sighed till woman smiled." 

On the lltli inst., by Esquire Ernest Robinson, Mr. 
W. W. White and Miss Mary McLean, all of Clarke. 

The 17th inst., by Rev. S. M. Gilmore,'Mr. J. E. 
Williams and Miss J. M. Meooinson, all of this county. 

Dec. 21st, by Esquire J. B. Doyle, Mr. John F. 
Cobb and Miss Sallie E. Padgett, all of Clarke. 
45 



706 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Dec. nth, by Kev. Wm. Hill, ]\Ir. B. A. Presnall 
and Mrs. Rebecca R. Dunham, all of this county. 

Dec. 21st, by Rev. J. H. Fendley, Mr. James C. 
Wade and Miss Laura Stephens, all of Clarke." 

" McKeithen-Portis — On the 5th of January, 18S1, 
at the residence of the bride's father in Suggsville, by 
Rev. J. H. James, J. Dan McKeithen, of Montgomery, 
Ala., to Miss Lucie Portis. No cards. 

Portis-Barnes — On the 30th ult., at the residence 
of the bride's father, in Suggsville, Ala., by Rev. J. H. 
James, Rivers Portis to Miss Mary Barnes. No cards." 



GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON. — RECORDS AND TRADITION. 

From Frost's Pictorial Life of Andrew Jackson, 
1814. "On the 26th of October he visited Coffee's 
camp above Fort St. Stephens and concerted the plan 
of action." Twenty-eight hundred men are mentioned 
of whom one thousand were dismounted and led to 
Pensacola. According to Pickett, General Jackson 
passed down the Alabama with troops in boats, not 
steamboats, in August, 1814, and made his headquar- 
ters at Mobile ; and October 26 he visited Coffee's 
camp "opposite the Cut-Off." To reconcile these 
statements it is conjectured that the word "above"' 
in the extract from Frost should be below, or that 
"Fort St. Stephens" should read Fort Stoddart. 

Ramsay says, Yol. 3, p. 417: "A reinforcement of 
mounted volunteers from Tennessee, to the number 
of two thousand, having arrived at Mobile, through the 
Indian country, about the end of October, Gen- 
eral Jackson * * * marched from Mobile with a 
force composed in a great measure of the Tennessee 



THE PHE8ENT. 707 

volunteers'' to Pensacola. Rainsaj in his large work 
would not be likely to discriminate between Mobile and 
the Cut-Off. Pickett states that Jackson's troops were 
led across Nannahubba Island, by way of Fort Mont- 
gomery, to Pensacola. Interpreting Ramsay and cor- 
recting Frost and these three writers agree. From 
Pensacola, according to Pickett, Jackson returned to 
P^ort Montgomery, visited Mobile, and went to New 
Orleans. 

There in January, 1815, was fought his great battle. 
But Jackson went again to Pensacola in 1818. 

In March, 1821, he was appointed governor of 
Florida. In the spring of 1822 he returned to Ten- 
nessee. 

(On tlie 18tli of June, 1820, Jackson had just re- 
turned from a "tour to the south and south-east,"* 
according to a letter which he wrote to President Mon- 
roe, this letter being dated June 20, 1820. How far 
south he had been the letter does not state. ) 

In 1823 and 1824 he was at Washington as state 
senator from Tennessee. He spent in retirement the 
years of 1825, 1826 and 1827. In January, 1828, he 
visited New Orleans. His wife died early in 1829, and 
in the shadow of that bereavement he went to Wash- 
ington and entered upon his duties as President. 

These historic facts, as recorded, are here presented 
on account of the tradition, so general, so persistent, 
and yet so conflicting, that General Jackson on one or 
more occasions passed through Clarke county. The 
question in itself is more curious, and perhaps interest- 
ing, than important; but it illustrates well the difhculty 
that sometimes ai-ises in dealing with tradition and 
•endeavoriniz; to ascertain facts. 



708 CLARKE AND ITS SUEROUNDINGS. 

According to the traditions, General Jackson took 
breakfast once on Jackson's Creek, he took dinner at 
the Courtney spring near the Line Road, he took sup- 
per at Suggsville, He drank water from the spring at 
Xettleboro, he barbecued a horse near Yashti or the 
"four corners."' He obtained corn and bacon and 
addressed a group of school boys at Bashi. He was 
at Baslii with soldiers ; he entered Suggsville from the 
west with troops. He was at the Courtney spring in a 
carriage with liis wife or niece. He was at Suggsville 
without troops with his wife and niece. Again, 
accoi'ding to some of the oldest citizens, he never was 
inside of the borders of Clarke. 

There is not much difference in the credibility and 
competency of the various witnesses. All are truthful. 
Some of them may have been mistaken. Jackson's 
march across Clarke must have been, if ever, some 
sixty years ago. Some of the witnesses must have 
been mistaken. 

Tlie years when Jackson might have entered the 
county appear to be 1818, 1821, and 1822. The year 
181-1- seems to be sufficiently set aside by the statements 
of Pickett and Ramsey and by the concurrent history 
of the events of that year. General Claiborne crossed 
from Jackson to Claiborne, with a part of Jackson's 
army, in 1813, and probably passed through Suggs- 
ville. Tennessee troops came down through the 
Indian country in 1814 to act under Jackson, and they 
may have passed through Clarke county ; but he was 
not their leader. 

In 1818 he led troops to Pensacola. By what 

route? According to Parton's "Life of Jackson" he 

eft Xashville January 22, 1818, with two Tennessee 



THE PRESENT. 709 

companies called his "guard.'' In eighteen days he 
reached Fort Hawkins, in the nortliern part of Georgia, 
he passed the village of Hartford, the Indian village of 
Chehaw, and reached Fort Early, in South Georgia, 
February 26, with his two companies of Tennesseeans, 
nine hundred Georgians, and a body of Indians. 
March 9, he reached Fort Scott with eleven hundred 
hungry men. On his line of march he used u[) all the 
corn and all the animals lit for food. Other recorded 
history agrees with this. A condensed statement of 
one authority is this: In iSlS .lackson marched to 
Hartford on the Ockmulgee, marched to Fort Scott, 
had for food lean cattle and a pint of corn a day for his 
men, reached Fort Gadsden and went eastward to Tal- 
lahassee. The fort at St. Marks, which he took, is 
south and a little east from Tallahassee. Then he pro- 
ceeded to Pensacola. With such precise records in 
existence it does not seem that the line of march from 
Nashville to Pensacola in 1818 can be questioned. 

By what route did Jackson return? Possibly through 
Clarke. 

J. M. Finch, residing on the Line Road south of 
Suggsville, remembers seeing in his childhood wagons 
and troops passing northward by his father's home on 
that road, which they told him wei'e Jackson's army, and 
he saw a man on horseback with his arm, he thinks, in 
a sling,wlioni he understood to be Jackson himself. No 
records of that return march have yet been found, and i / 
nntil something more sure is ascertained it may be re- 1 
garded that General Jackson passed northward along \ 
the Choctaw line through Clarke in 18ls. \ 

In 1821 he was appointed governor of Florida. Rid- 
path says. History of the United States, page 419, 



710 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

"Seeing that the defense of such a province would cost 
more then it was worth, the Spanish monarch then pro- 
posed to cede the territory to tlie United States. For 
this purpose negotiations were opened at Washington 
City; and on the 22d of February, 1819, a treaty was 
conchided by which East and West Florida and the out- 
lying islands wei'e surrendered to the American Gov- 
ernment.'"' But Ridpath neglects to say that this treaty 
of 1819 was not acceptable to Spain, was in fact rejected, 
and that the treaty by which Florida was acquired was 
not ratified by Spain before February, 1821. Jackson 
was then appointed governor of the newly acquired 
territory and a third time entered Florida. His wife, 
Mrs. Jackson, accompanied him. They went by way 
of the rivers and New Orleans to Pensacola, which is 
shown by several letters which Mrs. Jackson wrote 
to a friend in Tennessee, which letters have been 
published. 

In 1822 they returned to IS^ashville. By what route? 
Probably throiujh Clarke. J. iM. Jackson, residing at 
Gainestown landing, who was born in 1809, states that 
when he was twelve or thirteen years old, an errand 
took him one day to the residence of Mrs. Daniel Davis, 
then a widow, and that General Jackson and his wife 
and attendants were there taking dinner. There was 
one travelling carriage, and there were six or seven 
horses. The party had crossed the Alabama at Size- 
more's ferry and were on the way northward to Suggs- 
ville. The}' had missed the direct road and thus were 
brought to this house at the dining hour. He states 
that General Jackson rode on horseback, accompanied, 
as he understands, by Major Donaldson. His wife, and 
perhaps an attendant, occupied the carriage. Tliat 



THE PRESENT. 711 

night the party probably took supper at Siiggsville, and 
lunched the next da}' at the Courtney springs, when 
they were seen b}' members of the Courtney family and 
by Henry Allen. The crossing at Sizemore's ferry and 
the dining at Mrs. Davis' rest upon the memory ot 
Commissioner Jackson, then a boy thirteen years of 
age, and now a very intelligent, well-informed man, and 
must be accepted as well authenticated facts. One is 
still living who saw the party at Suggsville and two 
who saw them at the Courtney spring. It thus appears 
that Jackson possibly, prohahly^ in 181S, and very cer- 
tainly in 1S22, passed northward tlirough Clarke county 
along the Choctaw line road. . That he ever passed 
through the county in any other direction or at any 
other time, does not, in accordance with the facts that 
are recorded, seem credible. The Tennessee troops 
that came down in 1814 may have passed through Ba- 
shi,but Jackson was not with them. The Tennesseeans 
may have passed northward through Bashi in 1818. 



The Grove Hill Academy was first opened in Sep- 
tember 1836. 



PRINCIPALS. 



Rufus H. Kilpatrick, from 1846 to 1851, 

T. H. Ball, " 1851 to 1853, 

Peyton S. Graves, " 1853 to 1854, 

T. H. Ball, " 1854 to 1855, 

T.J.Ford, " 1855 to 1856, 

Edward A. Scott, 1857, 

John C. Foster, from 1857 to 1859, 

F. C. Frazer, " 1859 to 1860, 

John D. Leland, " 1860 to 1861, 



7i2 



CLAKKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 



SUSPENDED. 

T. J. Ford, from 1866 to 1871 , 

H. M. Dawson, '^ 1871 to 1872, 

James W. Dickinson, " 1873 to 1875, 

M. B. Dubose, " 1876 to 188(>, 

S. A. Adams " 1880 to 1882. 



PRINCIPALS OF THE FEMALE ACADEMY. 

Mrs. Kilpatrick from to 1851, 

Miss E. H. Ball from 1851 to 1853, 

Mrs. Graves " 1853 to 1854, 

No female teacher " 1854 to 1856, 

Miss R. J. Underwood " 1856 to 1857, 

Miss Fannie C. Stearns " 1857 to 1859, 

Miss Annie E. Heath " 1859 to 1860, 

Miss Mary E. Price " 1860 to 1861, 

Mrs. E. H. Woodard, " 1861 to 1862, 

Miss Josephine E. Williams " 1862 to 1863, 

Miss Mary L. Boroughs " 1863 to 1864, 

Mrs. Eliza D. Thomas " 1864 to 1865, 

Miss Carrie E. Woodard " 1865 to 1866, 

Miss Alice Caller " 1869 to 1871, 

Miss Mollie M. Pegues " 1871 to 1873, 

Miss Clara S. Powe " 1873 to 1874, 

Mrs. E. PI. Woodard " 1874 to 1879. 



REPRESENTATIVES IN CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS. 

Reuben Saifold and James Magoffin in 1819; Origen 
S. Jewett in 1861 ; Samuel Forwood in 1865. 



KEPRESENTATIVES IN STATE LEGISLATURE. 

William Murrell,Girard W. Creagh, in 1819, William 
Murrell, Girard W. Creagh, in 1820, James Magoffin, 



THE PRESENT. 713 

Edward Kennedy, 1821, James Fitts, Edward Kenned}', 
1S22, James Fitts, John G. Creaglu 1823, Richard Dick- 
inson, Jolm G. Creag-h, 1824, John G. Creagh, 1825, 
Elias H. Dubose 1826, Xeal Smith 1827, William Mob- 
ley 1828, 1829, 1830, Samuel Wilkinson 1831, John G. 
Creagh, 1832, 1833, Abel 11. Dubose 1834, Neal Smith 
1885. Thomas Saunders 1836, R. P. Carney 1837, G.W. 
Creagh 1838, Samuel Forwood 1839, W. F. Jones 1S40, 
Lorenzo James 1841, Peter Dubose 1842, John W. Por- 
tis 1843, 1844, Morgan Carleton 1845,Thomas B. Rivers 
1847, Lorenzo James 1849, A. L. Ilenshaw 1851, E. S. 
Thornton 1853, James J. Goode 1855, 1857, W. J. Hearin 
1859, 1861, John Y. Kilpatrick 1863, Thomas B. Savage 
1865, no election in 1867, H. C. Grayson 1870, John C. 
Chapman 1872, F. W. Baker 1874, Samnel Forwood 
1876, Frank Winn 1878, Stephen B. Cleveland 1880, 
Isaac Grant elected August, 1882. 

SENATORS IN STATE LEGISLATURE. 

Joseph B. Chambers 1819, Neal Smith 1822, George 
S. Gaines 1825, Joseph B. Earle 1827,N"eal Smith 1828, 
1831, Samuel Wilkinson 1834, Xeal Smith 1836, G.W. 
Creagh 1839, 1842, B. L. Turner 1845, G. W. Creagh 
1847, Cade M. Godbold 1849, Lorenzo James 1851, James 
S. Dickinson 1853, James S. Jenkins 1855, Noah A. 
Agee 1857, Stephen B. Cleveland 1859, O. S. Jewett 
1861, Robert Brodnax 1862, John Y. Kilpatrick 1865, 
John W. Foster 1868, Simeon Walton 1872. Eli S. 
Thornton 1876. 

For many of the above representatives and senators 
the authority is Brewer 



714 CLARKE AWD ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

COTTON BALES. 

A bale of cotton as put up or packed at the common 
gins is five feet long, two and a half wide, and one foot 
and a half thick. The average weight is now five hun- 
dred pounds. 

When rope was used it required for a bale about ten 
pounds of rope three-fourths of an inch in diameter. 
It required also seven yards of bagging. Six iron 
hoops are now used in the place of the rope, the iron 
ties being considered cheaper and better. 

LANDSCAPE VIEWS. 

Among the tall pines of this region, along the val- 
leys, on the hill sides, or in the dark, deep creek bot- 
toms, where it is difficult to see from the same spot 
both the rising and the setting of the sun, where from 
many of the homes only a few of the stars of night can 
be seen far above the lofty pine tops, where the full 
sweep of the horizon and a full blue dome glittering 
with thousands of shining worlds is a sight almost 
unknown, but few broad landscape views can be 
expected to be found. Yet in the county there are 
some very fine views. Among those may first be 
specified a view from the residence of T. A. Creighton, 
especially as it appeared at noon of a glorious autumn 
day, October 27, 1877. Then, after two days of rain, 
the sun was pouring its rich treasures of heat and 
light into the valley of Bassett's Creek, and on the 
hill sides, and on every leaf and twig and open spot of 
earth. The house stands on an eminence and in tiie 
edge of a grove of young oaks. The open view is of 
half a circle, its central point the south-east. The eye 
can take in the near hill top, a few miles of the Bas- 



THE PRESENT. 715 

sett'S Creek valley, a range of hill side and a high 
ridge beyond several miles in extent, and about due 
south, across the valley and through an opening in the 
ridge just to the right of Hickory Hall a distant line of 
blue woods marks the course of the Alabama. On the 
day above named the oak trees had not cast their 
leaves nor had any tVost taken away the brightness of 
their summer green. The air was very still, the morn- 
ing mists that hung over the valley having all cleared 
away, evaporation taking place rapidly ; the sky was 
deeply blue, a few white clouds, looking as light and 
pure as the newly ginned cotton, Hoating with scarce a 
motion in the "upper deep." The varied hues of 
green of the near oaks and of the more distant pines, 
the light green of the short leaves in the valley con- 
trasting with the darker hue of the long leaf of the 
hills, and the many shades of the varied growth in the 
rich bottom, here and there a few red leaves of the 
maple and yellow and red of the sweet-gum, joined 
with the verdure of the distant opposite hill sides, 
all combined to make one charming picture. Surely 
no hues are more pleasant to the eye than the deep 
blue of the sky above and the shades of perennial 
green that mark the Southern vegetation. 

A small landscape, taking in one fifth of the hoi'i- 
zon, including a portion of the Tallahatta valley, 
appears from the front of the residence in 1877 of J. K. 
Bettis. The pines on the opposite hills are from one 
and a half to three miles distant. Sycamore and wil- 
low oak are in the valley and other oak beyond. From 
a hill top near is a yet larger view. Froni a number 
of hill tops in the co'unty, and from hill sides east of 
Bassett's Creek and on the Line Road are some very 
pretty views. 



716 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

A very fine view can be obtained of one half of the 
horizon and a large valley and ridge landscape and a 
distant line of blue woods, from a high hill on the 
farm of Stephen Drury. The view opens south-east- 
ward. The following is an extract from some "notes." 
"In tlie afternoon of Nov. 27, 187Y, the bright sun 
shining, the air being still and warm, with a slight 
tinge of smoke in the atmosphere, the scene was beau- 
tiful, as 1 came upon the brow of the hill, emerging 
from the pines on the west. The range of vision 
extends over a long reach of hillside, beyond the valley 
of Bassett's Creek, and extends for many miles east- 
ward to some far distant blue woods. 

I do not know how much beauty some may behold 
in such a scene, but for myself 1 feel the power of such 
native loveliness, the loveliness of the scenery that 
God has made, mantling valley and hillside, woodland 
and untilled iield even, with such sunny brightness, — 
I feel its influence upon my soul like cool water to my 
lips when thirsty; and I linger with such a scene before 
me, feeling that in this sunny South and amid these 
pines and magnolias and ever running streams, sti'eams 
so silvery, so pure, so perpetual, existence in the month 
of November even is delightful." 

There is a fine landscape view from a hill top on the 
plantation of John A. Bolen, section 31, township 8, 
range 2 east. C(jmmencing at the south the view ex- 
tends beyond the river, distant six miles, north \ ard to 
the Mitchel-reserve bend, distant eleven miles, and 
passing then eastward it extends some seven or eight 
miles due north, and then to the north-east and east 
the distant view is cut off by 'some intervening tall 
pines. But for them probably the range of vision 



THE PRESENT. 717 

would extend to Grove Hill. Several places can be 
distinctlj^ seen, as Mrs. Pugh's on the St. Stephens 
road, the location of tlie first court-house, the store of 
AV. N". Moulton, and the site of Old St. Stephens. The 
north, near vallej' view is picturesque and also wild. 
The south-west valley view is beautiful, the sunsets 
liere are magnificent. 

Mrs. PuGii, named above, is now a widow residing 
some seven or eight miles from Grove Ilill. ller 
daughter, Miss Yirgixia Puon, a pupil of the Grove 
Hill Academy, was a pleasant, promising girl, and has 
become a noble won)an. She was mairied to one of 
the Callier family and now lives some distance up the 
Alabama river, in the rail-road region. She is one of 
tliose whose names should have a place among the 
"Sketches of Women," but definite information was 
wanting. Some record of one so true and noble is 
gladly inserted here, that her name may have a place 
among the daughters of Clarke. 

SOME MORE "notes." 

"March 25, 18S1. At the Howze place. 

Twice in the spring of 1881, (some matters connected 
with this work takiiig me yet again into Clarke) I 
crossed this remarkable plantation. The first time I 
came up from the south on the second row from the 
east of sections in range one east. That approach is 
imposing. One enters the plantation, after passing 
through an old-field-pine growth, through a large gate, 
and passing among young cedars in a pasture comes 
to large and aged looking cedars and rocky terraces, 
and reaches at length the high rocky tei-race on which 
stood the family residence and where are some dilapi- 



*ri8 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS, 

dated dwellings now. Cedars are liei'e by the tliou- 
sands and rocks by the millions/'' 

This is that noted plantation called ''The Rocks," 
noted beyond any other small region for its immense 
amount in early times of the zeuglodon remains. The 
"notes'" continue. "My second approach was also 
from the south leaving the Coffee ville road near the 

residence of Williams, and following an old road 

now but little more than a trail near the range line 
between ranges one and two. This is a lone and wild 
route, evidently well travelled many years ago. A foot 
loer across a little stream was decayed and looked as if 
it belonged to a former generation. After passing 
about one mle and a half northward the worn pathway 
was almost lost in a wilderness of cedars. Finding it 
again at the foot of the long cedar covered hill-side, I 
entered once more on section thirty-six a cultivated 
part of the plantation of rocks. Following the track 
of an old road-way and looking over the fields where 
the colored men and women were plowing, singing and 
whistling at their toil, I could imagine for the moment 
that I was back in the okl days, the days of Creagh or 
Howze occupancy; but turning to the uncultivated por- 
tions of this limestone soil and seeing so many hillsides 
given up to the cedars where once the cotton grew, that 
illusion vanished. 

Following the old pathway where once the wealthy 
owners would ride on their valuable hunting horses, 
the old Latin saying came forcibly to mind, mutatis et 
mutandis. Things have changed and they yet must 
change. And again Tennyson's words ring in mem- 
ory's ear, "The old order changeth." I passed on, 
and finding to quench my thirst a little clay basin of 



THE PRESENT. 719 

clear cold water, colder than tlie spriiio^ that was used 
tliirty years ago. from which it is not likely anv lips 
but mine ever drank, I came again to the high central 
rocky terrace. I remembered the old times, as seated 
on one of the rocks I wrote these notes, the old times 
when here I used to see Mrs. Howze, Miss Anne Als- 
ton, and the children, and when with Miss Emma 
Alston and the younger children I used to gather in 
these woods the rich upland muscadines. But this 
once pleasant home spot, from which so often the car- 
riages would leave with their fair and richly dressed 
occupants is desolate looking now. Here lie and for 
some time to come here yet will lie these strange, hard, 
limestone rocks, many of them full of holes, from one- 
fourth of an inch to live inches in diameter, as though 
bored for amusement." 

"Mrs. Coxwell now resides at The Rocks. Her 
husband came from Monroe county. She said she did 
not know why the plantation had its name, but when 
she reached it she soon found out. I am indebted to 
lier for kindness, and for some fine fossil specimens. 

Good bye to the Rocks." 

W. W. Rotch is the present owner of about two 
thousand acres of this old plantation. One particular 
portion is still called " the shell field." The shells are 
small fossils. Near the old home spot are some singu- 
lar appearances called human footprints in one of the 
rocks. There are but two, and the heel of one is out 
of the rock. The one is straight before the other, as 
the footprints of Indians are said to be; and the 
appearance is as though an Indian maiden, with moc- 
casins on her feet, when these rocks were soft lime, had 
taken one step into the lime bed and finding it too soft 



720 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

and sticky for comfortable walking had withdrawn her 
foot, stepped one side and gone around. A facetious 
youth here once pointed out these marks in the rock to 
an acquaintance and said, "This is where Mrs. Noah 
stepped out of the ark." But the probability is that 
Mrs. Noah's feet would have made broader prints than 
these. They are distant apart the length of the printed 
space on one of these pages and four lines more, the 
length of- the entire one is twice the length of this 
printed page — the top and bottom margin not meas- 
ured — wanting four lines, the depth of the prints in 
the rock is about three inches. The toe part is too 
narrow for a bare foot, too narrow for any natural 
human foot only as enclosed in a fashionable boot 
or ladies' shoe, or for an Indian girl's foot in a moc- 
casin. They are curious places in the rock, (an 
irregular triangle four feet one way and four and a 
half feet the other) they look as human footsteps in 
soft rock made as indicated above might be supposed 
to look ; but it is not probable that they are the real 
imprint of any human feet.* There are no indications 
of any tools having been used upon this now hard rock. 
These excavations are not artificial. Either some natu- 
ral cause washed out the rock in these two foot-print- 
like forms, or something, animal or man, stepped here 
when the rock was soft. 

It is said that Indian arrow heads, pottery, and 

*I made a drawing of the rock and of these two impressions and took measure- 
ments with the intention of giving a cut of tliera on this page. But it would be 
almost impossible to get an exact representation, and he who would form an inde- 
pendent opinion concerning these appearances would need to study them in the 
rock or in a good fac simile. I have noticed human footprints made in soft ice or 
in melting snow and then becoming frozen. I have observed especially the prints of 
bare feet in soil or clay after being washed by rain. The great objection to these, 
as I think, is, they are too narrow. T. H. B. 



THE PRESENT. 721 

lininan skeletons have been taken from a mound near 
these rocks; whether remains of the mound-buiklers 
so-called, or of the Indians of the present cannot now 
be determined. It is also said that a cannister grape 
shot, imbedded in the ground, was found here in 1822. 

On section thirty-four, township ten, range one east, 
where no known engagement in any war has ever been, 
there was plowed up about 1868 an iron ball weighing 
some three pounds. Its diameter is about three inches. 
Its sui'face is quite rough, having been probably deeply 
corroded by rust, or by the gnawing tooth of oxygen. 
How it came where it was found is unknown. Many 
arrow heads with broken points have been found on tlie 
same plantation. It is near the track of Do Soto's 
north-western march from Maubila.'''' 

Near this i)lace, on the plantation of J. W. Brewer, 
was found by him in his field a singular fossil. It 
weighs about three ])ounds and seems evidently to be 
a piece of petrified wood. The singular part of it is 
that it contains petrified worms, either the common 
white wood worm, or the earth worm called angle- 
worm. Some of these worms now have a reddish 
color. A number of these worms remain in the stony 
wood, looking as natural almost as li!e. Wood seems 
to petr fy readily and rapidly in parts of this county, 
and tliat in quite recent if not in the very present time. 

In digging at one of the salt works the workmen 
came u])on a large bone four feet in length, said to have 
resembled a human thigh bone. Large teeth also were 
found there. It seems a pity that these remains could 
not liave undergone some accurate, scientific investiga- 
tion. 

♦This iron l)all i< now in my possession. T. H. B. 

4G 



722 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Combined here are two editorials taken from the 
Clarke County Democrat, a paper whose editor prizes 
and appreciates historical research above many, and 
who has been for now eight years — from 1874 to 1882 
— a firm friend and helper of the researches contained 
in this volume. The one has for its heading Volume 
25th. The other has Volume 26th. 

"To-day we commence the 26th volume of the 
Clarke County Democrat. 

We issued the first number in January, 1856 — long 
ago. Great changes have taken place since that time 
in Grove Hill, in Clarke county, in Alabama, in the 
United States, in the civilized world. 

Of the male residents of the town when we came here, 
the Hon. Jas. S. Dickinson and Judge R. J. Woodard, 
alone, remain. The others have all died or moved 
away — H. W. Coate was Pi-obate Judge; John R. 
Bumpers, Sheriff; Derusha Dafiin, Circuit Clerk ; Rob- 
ert Hill, Tax Assessor, and Joseph B. Pogue, Collector 
— all dead but the last named, who resides in Texas. 

Among the inhabitants of the place, at that time, 
were J. A. Coate, W. T., J. A. and A. J. Megginson, 
W. S., Dan. and Jack Williams, Jas. J. Goode, D. H. 
Portis, W. Burge, all of whom are dead. 

The following prominent citizens of the county have 
died since that time : Richard Dickinson, James A. 
Howze, Jere Austill, Giles Chapman, Elijah Pugh, 
John A. Coate, E. S. Pugh, J. J. Goode, Wm. J. Ham- 
ilton, Stephen Drury, I. Kimbell, Abel, Peter and 
Elias DuBose, *W. L. Beckham, S. S. Parker, Geo. 
Walker, R. P. Carney, Jas. T. Singleton, T. J. Nich- 
ols, Wm. Jackson, Drs. Joshua and Amos Wilson, R. 
D. James, O. S. Jewett, Jas. Flinn, Sandy Roane, 
Richard Rivers, Dr. Neal Smith, Dr. A. Denny, A. I. 
Henshaw, Wm. Morriss, Judge Bettis, Thos. Boroughs, 
Samuel Cobb, Albert Wilson, Thomas Carter, M. Har- 
per, A. Deaton, A. Glen, R. Stutts, B. I. Goodloe, 
James Cleveland, James Odom, Revs. Lewis, L. De- 



THE PRESENT. 723 

witt, R. M. Thomas, W. Jacob Tarker, Rial and Daniel 
Noble, B. ('. Foster, John Cunningham, John Bell, 
Mathew Cox and many more whose names we caimot 
now recall. 

John Anthony Winston was then gfn'ernor of Ala- 
bama. He is dead and his successor, Andi-ew B. 
Moore, also ; and so is John Gill Shorter, his successor. 

Franklin Pierce was president of the United States, 
and the ship of state was sailing smoothly and grandly; 
and few dreamed that the storm of civil war was so 
near and was to drench the land in fraternal blood. 
Franklin Pierce has, long since, passed away ; as have 
his successors in the presidential office, Buchanan, 
Lincoln and Johnson. 

These reflections, though sad, are pleasant and prof- 
itable. They remind us that we are all hastening to 
the " undiscovered country from whose bourne no 
traveller returns"'' ; and that our positions of honor and 
responsibility will be fllled by others, and our names, 
in a little while, fade from the memory of men and 
cease to be spoken in the land. 

Few newspapers in Alabama have been published 
for so long a time by the same proprietor.'" 

OLD ST. STEPHENS. 

Having been at last,after different unsuccessful efforts 
to reach the place caused by high M'ater and general in- 
accessibleness, where the Spaniards and probably the 
French once held possession on the noted limestone 
bluff, having meditated among the cedars that now mark 
the spot of Spanish occupancy, I take the liberty of in- 
serting the following notes as they were originall}^ writ- 
ten, even if repeating thus some statements already made. 
Very few prospering state capitals of our country have 
yet become what St. Stephens now is. (The statement 
may be made here, as it is not given in the notes, that 
the memorial monument erected here to the memorv of 



724 CLARKE AND ITS SURKOUNDINGS. 

Judge Crawforcrs daughter cost, according to good au- 
tliority, it=5000.) 

1881. "Tuesday, April 12. Ten A. M. I am alone 
on the top of the large limestone bluff that marks, on 
the river side, the site of the first capital of Alabama. 
It has a grand foundation and wall of solid limestone. 
The river is nov^^ high. I should think it was fifty feet 
down to the .water. It is said to be one hundred. Red 
cedars are abundant here, skirting the very edge of this 
rocky height. Pines and oaks are also here, and the 
whole height with the entire locality of the old town of 
St. Stephens is all well wooded. There is now here no 
" capitoline " glory. The fiowers of spring are here, 
even the yellow blossoms of tlie sorrel; the birds are 
here; the pleasant breeze, the sunshine, an<l the shad- 
ows, for the day is not cloudless, the ever flowing river, 
these all are here, as they were in the former almost 
forgotten years; as in the years when on this height 
where now I am alone, the youth and maidens walked 
in the cool of eventide; where but a little way from 
here were heard the merry voices of childhood, as boj^s 
and girls were playing in the now almost obliterated 
streets ; where the hum of business from thirty stores 
was heard at midday; and where at nightfall mothers 
gathered their little ones in, and heard their prayers, 
and laid them to rest on their white couches, and night 
settled down over the town and the stars above gave 
light. But now solitude, grandeur, gloom, with the un- 
corrupted and undefiled magnificence and beauty of 
nature, reign here. At the landing below the bluff, now 
called Gordy's landing, the steamboats often stop. A 
little house is standing there to receive some freight, and 
close by is a soft limestone quarry. A pathway leads 



THE PRESENT. 7 '2 5 

across the site of the old town. The h)ng line, of what 
was probably the principal street, is yet distinct. The 
rock foundations remain of many buildings that were 
probably showy and imposing in their day Nearly 
every trace of any wood work has disappeared. In 1S20 
the towii had its growth. Decay soon commenced; and 
in 1S50 it had ceased to be. 

The resting place of many dead is here. Some 
records are: — I have now left the bluif and the river's 
bank, and am on a hill or wooded ridge, west of the 
once busy streets and homes of the living, where rests 
the dust of the dead — 'Sacrp:i) to the memory of Davis 
H. Mayhew, (a native of Massachusetts) who departed 
this life on the seventh day of September, 1822, in the 
40th year of his age.' The resting place of this son of 
Massachusetts is covered with mason work, stone and 
brick. The marble head-stone is broad. The moss of 
years is around at the bottom but not over its face. 

Of another the fallen and broken stone says, tlie full 
name not being legible, 'born in North Kingsbury, died 
at St. Stephens May, 1820, aged 31. He died far from 
those to whom he was endeared by ties of kindred.' 
The now fallen stone was erected to his memory by ' a 
nephew.' Soon will all his memorial perish from the 
eartli. It is as true of these as of those who sleep in 
the desert oasis solitude of Palmyra, who have slept for 
ages, they lived, they loved, they passed away. 

A tall marble slab marks the resting place of Cor- 
nelius M. Van Fatten of Schenectady county. New York. 
The monument was 'erected to his memory by his sur- 
viving bi'other. ' 

' We were two, wlio baud in hand, 
Were stran;!;prs journeying in tlie land; 
Thougli parted now we'll meet aiiain. 
Far from this world of care and pain.' 



726 CLARKE a:n^d it> suRRo^^^)I^'GS. 

Age 26 years. 

Another broad, tall grav marble says. 'Sacred to the 
memory of Dr. Middleton Dougheett, of Charlotte^ 
y. C. who died July 16. 1S35. while on a visit to Ala- 
bama. 

He was skillful as a physician, exemplary as a 
Christian, and beloved as a man.' What better trib- 
ute does one need than that ? 

A large horizontal slab over a brick enclosure says, 
• Sacred to the memory of George Kaser. [perhaps Ka- 
ser] bom in Philadelphia 7th April, 1801, died at St. 
Stephens, Alabama, 8th August. 1826. aged 25 years 
and 4 months.' 

There is a singular stone to the memory of Martha 
Robeson, 1817. wife of John Robeson. 

There are dilapidated enclosures here. The masonry 
work done with stone and brick remains, but the wood- 
work is rapidly disappearing. This was the burial place 
of Alabama's first capital, and many nameless as well 
as some distinguished dead sleep here. It is on a high, 
broad ridge. It was evidently a roomy place, as wa* 
fitting for a capital cemetery. It is secluded now, well 
wooded, and, although it bears fully the aspect of a de- 
serted spot, it does not seem likely that it will soon be 
desecrated. Its present condition ought to be of some 
interest to the citizens of Alabama. They all ought to 
read whatever lessons there may be in the fact that 
Montgomery is their fourth capital, and in the fact that 
Old St. Stephens is such a desolation now: and yet not 
a desolation, for while traces of man's presence and 
work and life and death are here, the whole locality has 
been surrendered back to nature again, for her to clothe 
afresh as with its earlier beaut v. as in the davs before 



THE PRESENT. 727 

tlie Frenchmen or the Spaniards eatne. What nature 
re-ck)thes in lier own mantle of beauty is not desolate. 
And in this spring time, when the lighter shades of the 
budding and half grown leaves are in contrast with 
the darker evergreens, when the rich green sward of the 
old streets or gardens, perhaps, is literally blue with 
liowers,when the earth is mantled with beauty, the cul- 
tivated and meditative stranger, who knew nothing of 
past history here, would say to-day, as the April breeze 
is very fresh and the sunshine is warm, and a cool bath 
in a little stream near by is a luxury, — that these 'ruins' 
are picturesque, these woods lone and wild, this bluff 
and this river beautiful and grand, and this wlu^le local- 
ity an atti'aetive solitude. And he would wonder Wii?n 
man was here, and why he went away. 

Leaving the cemetery I found, passing along what 
was probably its border, the trace of a very old, straight 
road. I followed it southward, perhaps one hundred 
and hfty yards, and came to a small field enclosing a 
hill-top. Keeping the direction of the road I went to 
the central summit, and was surprised to find there a rock 
foundation fifty feet long and twenty-four feet wide. 
* * ■" "^ . A tree growing within it eighteen or 
twenty inches in diameter, has been within a year or 
two cut down. The varieties of green over the densely 
wooded near southern valley are the most singular and 
weird-looking that I have yet seen." 

"At night. At new St. Stephens. 

They say here, that the hill-top building was the St. 
Stephens' Academ3^ '•" * * Well ! the gay school 
girls of Washington and Clarke had a breezy and pleas- 
ant spot for study.'' 

" April 13. While waiting at the landing for the 



7:28 CLARKE AXP ITS SURKOUNDIXGS. 

Steamer, Marv Bovd. I met with John W. Baker, born 
in 1S27. a native here, son of John Baker and grandson 
of John Baker. — Saw some hnnters bring in two wild 
turkeys which they had jast shot on the grounds or the 
suburbs of the oki capital. 

I learn from him that his grandfather, coming from 
Virginia, settled a few miles above here, near what is 
now Wilson's landing, in 17S'». choosing to settle among 
the Choctaws rather than among the Spaniards : that 
the Spanish fort, some of the earth-work remaining, 
was near the river on this blutf among the cedars where 
I was yesterday ; that the American fort and Gaines* 
trading house, the foundation of the latter remaining, 
were further from the river, in what are now the pine 
w-x)ds ; that on one of the foundations now traceable 
st<X)d the Crawford family mansion ; and that the old 
brick bank was the last building remaining here, the 
brick from which were removed in 1S62 to make arches 
at the salt works. 

From John W. Baker I have thus five places identi- 
fied, to which the academy site being added will make 
six. The family homes and the business houses once 
standing upon the rock foundations which I observed 
yesterday, and upon the little earth hillocks, and along 
the lines of those dimly outlined streets among the 
pines and cedars and deciduous trees, cannot be speci- 
fied by names. Little remains here of the works of 
man above the surface of the earth except the hard, 
dark gray, limestone rock, the brick work, and the 
memorial marble. French. Spanish. British, and Amer- 
ican, and the long Indian times, have passed over this 
apparently sightly and attractive spot, but no human 
being dwells here now. It is said to have become un- 



THE I'RE>>f:XT. 729 

healthy. And there is a tradition here, — the current 
statement being that the last, the American inhabitants, 
never erected a house for worship — tliere is a tradition 
that there came into the then prosperous town one day 
an aged, venerable looking minister, that the citizens 
extended to him no hospitality, that the gay, pleasure 
loving young people made sport of him, and that he 
predicted then and tliere the coming, utter desolation of 
their gay capital. I do not vouch for the truth of this 
statement, but it comes to me from good authority. It 
is certain that death became here a very frequent visi- 
tant, that in early life even the transient visitors were 
cut down by disease, that the county-seat as well as the 
capital was removed, and that the hum of business life 
and all sounds of gayety and of human existence passed 
away. And now the inquiring tourist, the meditative 
stranger, can experience some of the emotions with 
which such look upon the buried cities of Central Amer- 
ica — they claim five thousand inhabitants here once — 
or upon the old deserted spots like Memphis. Baalbec, 
Palmyra, or Babylon, of the Eastern world, as he may 
spend a sunny day in rambling over the very quiet, 
secluded wooded, grassy, and rock-bedded solitude of 
Old St. Stephens." 

XEW ST. STEPHENS. 

The present county-seat of what is now "Washington 
county dates back to about 1S45. The best houses of 
the old town were taken down and transported to Mo- 
bile where they are still standing. Judge Bragg held 
court in the old town as late as 184S. 

The new town is still a small village. It contains a 
good hotel kept by J. A. Pelham. who is also mer- 



730 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

chant, postmaster, and a local Methodist minister. The 
traveller and visitor will tind at this house a pleasant 
resting place and a well spread table. 

The court-house here is a small, neat structure, a!id 
the village church is a comfortable, substantial building. 
Fine oak trees are abundant along the ridge on which 
the village stands. A public road leads directly to Mo- 
bile, distant, due south fiftj-seven miles, by the road 
sixtv-four miles. 



Crimes have been committed by both whites and 
blacks, in the region of which this volume treats, as 
evil natures are here as well as elsewhere. Ko large 
spot of earth has yet been found, however beautiful the 
foliage or luscious the fruit or balmy and delightful the 
climate, where man never trespassed on the rights of 
fellow man. For the most part, in this volume, blank 
and black oblivion has been allowed to rest upon these 
black deeds. Some have been horrible, as committed 
by blacks upon whites, upon feeble, defenceless women, 
and swift and well deserved has been sometimes the 
punishment inflicted ; and blacks upon blacks and 
whites upon whites have committed their share of crime; 
but over all may now the curtain of darkness fall. 

Thousands have lived here, in these last hundred 

years, unharmed ; and mercy, peace, and truth, and 

love, have met around the hearthstones. 

" Long may our land be bright 
With freedom's holy light ; 
Protect us by thy might, 
Great God, our King.'' 



CHAPTER XX. 

LITERARY PRODUCTIONS AND CONCLUSION. 

" Full maiw a flower is born to blusli unseen, 
And waste its sweetness on the desert air; 
Full many a gem of purest ray serene. 

The dark uufatlionied caves of ocean bear." 

THE literary productions of this coiintv have been 
few. 

In 1839 Rev. Joseph Talbert publislied a small vol- 
ume of one hundred and seventy hymns. The first one 
hundred and nineteen of these were written by himself; 
the following thirty-nine were written by his wife ; 
eleven were written by his brother, Rev. John Talbert; 
and the last one, the one hundred and seventieth, was 
written by himself. Probably few copies of these 
hymns are now to be found. 

A poem, or a little volume of poems, was also pub- 
lished many years ago by Lewis Sewall. This seems 
not now to be extant. 

Dr. Denney, of Suggsville, also published a pam- 
phlet, of which he was the author, on the Indigenous 
Plants of Clarke. This too, it is to be regretted, 
seems to have perished. 

In later years some occasional poems have been 
written in the county, many of them connected with 
obituary notices. As these obituakies make up quite 
a large part of the literary productions of this region, 
a few of them, taken from files of old papers or from 
scrap books, and presenting dift'erent varieties of style. 



732 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

are here given. And as a thouglitful and meditative 
traveller, in visiting some foreign country or ancient 
city, fails not to walk, at some quiet hour, among the 
resting places of the dead, examining the strange 
monuments and reading the inscriptions on the monu- 
mental stones, so let tlie thoughtful reader meditate 
along these few pages where are reproduced the last 
loving words of friends concerning their departed 
friends. 

LITTLE CHILDREN. 
I. 

"Died, at Grove Hill, on the 31st of October, 1863, 
of diphtheria, Dora Carleton, aged eleven years. 

With womanhood's patience she endured her fearful 
sufferings. When struggling with the last, slow tor- 
ture, her mother asked, ' Dora, do you wish to die ? ' 

' Yes ma'am,' was the quiet answer, ' I can't live.' 

When life was fast receding her face beamed with 
unearthly brightness, like the glory angels leave, and, 
with a radiant smile, she exclaimed, ' I love, I love 
you all.' Then came a broken, childish prayer, and 
her last whispered word was 'Jesus.' 

How weary our way, how dark our sky, 
As one by one our treasures die — 
The blows are thine — oh, help us God ! 
To pass beneatli thy heavy rod ; 
Around thy throne our sunbeams keep. 
While in our hearts the shadows sleep. 

Though claimed by Heaven we cannot forget 
Our darling! our darling! Dora — our pet! 
And daily we'll sigli for the cheek so soft, 
The little hand we've clasped so oft. 
For the little form to fill again 
The vacant chair that waits in vain. 



LITERARY PRODUCTIONS AND CONCLUSION. 733 

When childish lips to ours are pressed, 
And bright lieatls nestle on our breast, 
Small arms about our neck are wound. 
And busj- feet are flitting round, 
'Tis then we'll miss thee, gentle child, 
With face so sweet and ways so mild. 

But the freed<mi thine of the angel wing, 
And thine the bloom of eternal spring. 

Go, clasp thy hand with little C 

Through the summer long he awaited thee. 
When earthward tlij- bright steps would stray 
He'll lead thee down the spirit way. 

Farewell bright one! 'tis but for a day. 
That thou art gone from Lizzie and Ma}-. 
When angels draw yon bars of blue. 
And Heaven's glory bursts in view. 
Oh then we'll know the reason why 
So soon thy home was made on high." 

She wlio wrote tliis, containing sucli true and beait- 
tifiil poetry, Miss Josephine Carleton, afterwards Mrs. 
Grayson, now herself also sleeps in death. She was 
truly one of the gifted and lovely daughters of Clarke, 
and here, beside the memorial of little Dora, let her 
own monument remain. 

The ''Lizzie'' mentioned above is now Mrs. J. Y. 
Kilpatrick of Wilcox, and "May'" is Miss May Carle- 
ton, now an intelligent, polite, sociable young lady, 
one of the beautiful girls of Bashi (1877). 

II. 

" F. Leland Taylor, only child of S. Parker Taylor 
and Sarah, his wife, born October 21st 1856, after a 
painful illness of nine days, departed this life on the 
26th of January, 1861, aged four years, three months 
and five days. 



734 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDESTGS. 

Death is always a suggestive fact, even when it 
reaches the aged and infirm. It presents to us anew 
the stern truth that ere long we too shall be called to 
meet its fearful realities. The dark vapor which hangs 
like a pall o'er the 'valley of the shadow of death' 
is too dense to be pierced by mortal eyes. Apart 
therefore from revelation, we know nothing of the 
thither side of the grave, yet marked circumstances — 
coincidences perhaps — have at times led to the im- 
pression that it was permitted to some to look into the 
future. 'Twas so with Leland. A few days before 
his illness, in conversation with his grandmother, and 
without previous reference to the subject, he told her 
he was going to God. In the earlier days of his ill- 
ness he said to those around his bed, he was going to 
that big house, it was so pretty ; later he said to his 
father and aunt Carrie, he 'heard the boat coming' 
which was to take him to the big house. On the day 
before he died he told his father and aunt that ' the 
boat had come and he was going : ' told his father that 
he ' must make mother come too ; ' he then presented 
both hands and said, 'here, father, take them,' and 
so fell asleep. 

But yesterday little Leland was a bright, precocious 
child, the hope and the jo}' of his parents. To-day, 

God's image freed from clay, 
He shines in lieaven's eternal light 
A star of day. 

* ^K^ TT * * V^ * * * 

F. L. S.^' 
The Taylor Family lived at Jackson, near the river. 
"The boat" therefore, of which little Leland spoke, 
was not probably the mystic ferry-boat of old heathen 



LITERARY PRODUCTIONS AND CONCLUSION. 735 

mythology; but the palace steamer coming down the 
river and going to the large city. 

OIRLHOOD. 

III. 

"Died — On the 11th ult. of Yellow Fever, Martha 
E. Savage, aged about sixteen years. 

Such are the simple words which announce that the 
beautiful and the beloved has passed from earth for- 
ever I When they were whispered mournfully in our 
ear, we repeated them mechanically, over and over, 
before the brain received their terrible import. They 
were uttered in low tones from friend to friend, until 
each face was shrouded in gloom, and many eyes, 
unused to tears, glistened in manly sorrow. For here 
was Miss Savage known and lored with an homage as 
sincere as it was unusual. Here was her budding 
girlhood passed — liere, expanded into almost more 
than mortal perfection, the tiower whose opening love- 
liness gave such brilliant promise. We knew and 
loved her well. Many a pleasure have we enjoyed 
together, when life was new and hope was bright. 
Manj' fairy dreams have we woven, that have long 
since faded, like the lines on a summer cloud. Young, 
beautiful, and accomplished, virtue never found a 
holier temple, beauty never veiled a purer sanctuary. 
Earth seldom beholds a fairer vision. Death seldom 
claims a prouder trophy. Oh I who does not grow 
faint and oppressed, with the sense of his own little- 
ness, when those whom we have ensln-ined upon our 
inmost hearts, are thus rudely torn from our sheltering 
arras. Though her beauty of person and graceful 
elegance of deportment, extorted the admiration ol 



736 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

all who saw her, yet only those, who were admitted to 
her intimate friendship, could appreciate the priceless 
jewels enshrined in this enchanting casket. 

Alas ! the sweet flower, just bloomed into maturity, 
is plucked from the parent stem by the rude hand of 
death, and lies wilted in the cold grave by the side of 
the once lovely sister, Mary, who went just before 
her. and the fond parents, who came just after I 

' Now the night arose in silence, 

Birds lay in their leafy nest, 
And the deer crouched in the forest, 

And the children were at rest; 
There was only sound of weeping 

From watchers round a bed ; 
But rest to the weary spirit. 

Peace to the quiet dead ! ' 
Grove Hill, Ala. D. D." 

The above notice was written in the fell of 1853, 
when Grove Hill was so fearfully desolated by tlie 
yellow fever ; and the writer, D. Daffin, as elsewhere 
mentioned, closed some years ago his own compara- 
tively brief career. 

Amid these records, as in Westminster Abbey, or 
in some rural cemeterj^ where there is woodland beauty 
and the traveller beholds the gra3% moss-covered stone, 
we read alike the old teaching, ''One generation 
passeth away and another generation cometli ; but ihe 
earth abideth foi-ever." 

It is true that many lovely ones have passed away, 
of whom the one named above may be taken as a 
representative, and not even their names can be re- 
corded, although their images yet live in many loving 
hearts ; but other lovely ones have come to take their 



LITERARY PRODUCTIONS AND CONCLUSION. 737 

places. As in nature, so beautifully expressed in 
Brvant's Hymn, so in the human race, beauty lives on. 

YOUTH. 

IV. 

" Died, in Richmond, Va., Xov. 8d, 1861, of typhoid 
fever, after an illness of tifteen days, Robert Blakely 
Fleming, of the Grove Hill Guards, aged nineteen 
years. 

Seldom is it our duty to record the death of one so 
noble in life, so lovely in death. Of high moral bear- 
ing, never condescending to the low or trifling, he lived 
beloved and died lamented by all. He was always 
one of the most promising school boys, affectionate 
brothers, and obedient j^ouths, that ever lived. His 
mind was, I verily believe, in some respects more than 
ordinary; and his morals and veneration for religion 
and religious people such that one might easily have 
supposed he was deeply pious. Indeed, I know he 
was seriously concerned and anxiously thinking about 
religion when the company left Grove Hill, and from 
information the most reliable he never slackened his 
inquiries or ceased to be the same high-minded youth, 
amid all the immoralities of camp life. Captain Hall 
says of him, ' The disease which terminated his life 
was doubtless brought on from exposure in the too 
faitliful discharge of his duty as a soldier. Amidst all 
the trials and temj^tations of a soldier's life where so 
many, even older than he, are so liable to err, Robert 
never forgot the lessons of morality which were taught 
him at home. Xo impropriety in language or conduct 
was ever committed or spoken by him; but his conduct 
was ever marked by that high sense of honor which 
47 



738 CLARKE A^TD ITS SURROU^'DIXGS. 

distinguishes the gentleman. To his fellow soldiers he 
was kind and affable, and no one in the company enjoyed 
tlieir good opinion to the same extent as himself. He 
was ever ready to seek my advice and to listen to my 
counsel, and for no one in the company had I a 
warmer attachment. Thus has fallen the young, the 
noble, the patriotic Fleming, a martyr to his country.' 

For my own part, althougli he went away before 
becoming a member of a church or professing religion, 
yet I shall always cherish sweet hopes of his being in 
a better world. W. H. C." 

Tery many such, in the course of years, among the 
youth of Clarke have fallen, not only on the tented 
field, amid the din of strife, but in peaceful homes, sur- 
rounded by loving friends. Before the years of man- 
hood had enabled them to secure renown, they passed 
from the scenes of earth ; and who now could record 
either their virtues or their names ( 

MANHOOD AXD WOilAXHOOD. 

Y. 

'"Died. In Grove Hill, Clarke county. Alabama, 
March 12th 186S, Mrs. Josephixe M. Foster, daughter 
of George D. and Sarah Megginson, and wife of Rev. 
J. C. Foster, aged twenty-seven years and eight 
months. 

The subject of this brief memoir was the youngest 
child, and for many years the only daughter of fond 
aad affectionate parents — her only sister died in early 
youth, leaving for her all the boundless affection of 
dating parents, and the immeasurable love of six noble 
brothers. 



LITERARY PRODUCTIONS AND CONCLUSION. 739 

Thus pecnliarly situated in lier pleasant lioine, 
never feeling a care, or having a wish ungratificd, tlie 
object of the most devoted love of the home circle, it 
would not have been strange if the unfolding character 
of the cherished one had been warped and marred ; but 
we find her in these early years obedient and attentive 
to her parents' wishes, watching by the bedside of her 
mother during her last protracted illness, with all the 
fidelity of one of mature years, until the stern messen- 
ger released the willing spirit of the mother and left 
the daughter an orphan. We also see in her daily 
intercourse with her brothers all the strength and 
purity of a sister's love; gentle and kind, ever ready 
to accomplish any plan they might propose, or gratify 
any wish they might suggest. By nature possessed of 
a delicate organization, she was sensitive to the least 
word, or look of unkindness or disapproval, and her 
love of truth and candor was so great that whenever 
slie saw the least dissimulation, or duplicity in others^ 
she withdrew insfinctively from their society. 

During her schooklays, she was a favorite both with 
teachers and schoolmates, her fond, loving nature- 
endeared her to all hearts. In music she was pai'ticu- 
larly gifted by nature, and improved by early and care- 
ful culture, she excelled in that rare acconaplishment., 
It was truly delightful to listen to her bird-like voice-, 
entrancing the soul with its exquisite melody. But 
the days of happy childhood passed swiftly away, and 
ere the threshold of womanhood had scarce been 
crossed, she became a lovely, loving bride. Never 
had she seemed so fair a flower as upon this eventful 
day, when in the freshness and purity of her early 
bloom, she was united heart and hand to one every 
way worthy of the tnlst. 



740 CLAKKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

A few months after her marriage she made a pro- 
fession of her faith in Christ, and united with the 
Horeb Baptist Church. 

Ten years of life were all that remained to her, 
during which time she was frequently called to mourn 
the loss of loved ones from the family circle. Four 
brothers and three infant children were borne to the 
silent tomb. All these visits of Death rent her affec- 
tionate heart, but it seemed only to draw her nearer 
to the Throne, and she was led to see the wisdom of 
God in thus early removing her jewels from earth to 
heaven. 

For more than a 3^ear previous to her decease, her 
health declined, and days and nights of suffering were 
hers ; but meekl}- and patiently she bore all, waiting 
for her release to come. As the trying hour drew 
near, her intellect seemed to brighten and her mind 
remained clear and vigorous to the moment of dissolu- 
tion. 

She expressed her entire trust in the Savior, and 
her perfect resignation to his Divine will. Her prayers 
were for the church, and she exhorted the members to 
be faithful to the cause of Christ, and be faithful to 
their pastor, to uphold and support him in his minis- 
terial duties. Her last hours were very solemn and 
impressive, and her parting words to her husband and 
darling little boy, were touching and pathetic. Those 
who witnessed the scene can never forget it. As the 
fragile flower droops and dies, so passed our dear sis- 
ter away, leaving naught but the sweet memories of 
her life with us who mourn her departure. Such is the 
brief and imperfect sketch of the life of our valued sis- 
ter, the wife of our esteemed pastor. May we who 



LITERARY PRODUCTIONS AND CONCLUSION. 741 

remain strive to emulate her virtues and consecrate 
ourselves anew to the service of our Divine Master, 
that our last days may be peaceful as were her's, and 
our meeting in heaven be full of joy. 

One wno knew axd loved ukk well. 
March, 1868. 

VI. 

"Died, in this County, on the Tth instant, Neal 
Calhoun, aged fifty seven ^^ears. 

The deceased removed from Cumberland county, N. 
C. to tliis county, in the Jackson's Creek neighborhood, 
in the year 1811>. Though of a quiet and unassuming na- 
ture, and not disposed to render himself conspicuous or 
herald his own merits,it is questionable whether a better 
citizen ever resided the same length of time in Clarke 
county. The writer of this humble tribute to his mem- 
ory first knew him twelve years since as a class leader 
and Sabbath-school teacher. The church, (of which he 
had been a member for upwards of thirty-five years) 
class meeting. Sabbath school, and pra3'er meeting, 
found in him an earnest and devoted member. In all 
the relations of life he deserved and won the esteem of 
those who had the pleasure of his acquaintance. 

During the short span of human life, we are engaged 
in so many different pursuits, and our minds are led 
away by so man}" attractions, that we seldom attempt 
to form an estimate of the worth and merit of our 
friends until they have gone into the eternal and un- 
changeable state — until the picture of their lives is re- 
flected back by the dark shades of death. It is then 
that the lingering hand of friendship is exerted to trace 
the path pursued by those who have been dear to us in 
this transitory life. It is then that memory hovers, with 



742 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

fond and melancholy remembrance, over each incident, 
as they are presented through the lapse of years that 
are past, and endeavors to trace the outlines of the pic- 
ture which we fondly cherished while it was animated 
by the spark of life. 

That meek Christian spirit which had borne him 
through the severe trials and afflictions of this life, de- 
serted him not in his last moments. His protracted 
and severe illness he endured patiently, and the flight 
of the spirit was as the dying of the wave along the 
shore. * * * * 

'Dear is the spot where Christians sleep, 
And sweet the strains whicli angels pour; 
O why should we in anguish weep? 
They are not lost — but gone before.' 

D. D." 

These six are all the sketches of this class which the 
plan of this chapter allows ; they have been selected, 
for the most part, on account of their style ; but it 
should not be inferred that many others among the 
hundreds have not been as well written, perpetuating 
the memory of those who were as lovely and as good. 

The following poem was written by Miss M. D. 
Parker, of Grove Hill, To the memory of her father, 
Elder W. J. Parker. 

In our home circle, sad and cheerless. 

Often have our poor hearts bled, 
When we spake of our dear father, 

Who is numbered with the dead ! 
Oh, he was a loving parent! 

But our heavenly Father gave ; 
And He saw fit to take him — 

Now he slumbers in the grave. 

When at home oh how we miss him ! 
For we never see him there; 



LITERARY PRODUCTIONS AND CONCLUSION. 743 

How we miss liis dear voice leading 

In our li3-mns at evening prayer. 
Yes we miss him here at evening 

When the birds so sweetly sing; 
But we'll meet him up in Heaven 

Where the angels' voices ring. 

Oh he loved to tell of Jesus, 

Loved to tell of how he died 
On the cross for us poor sinners, 

On the cross was crucified. 
But he'll no more tell of him 

Or his wondrous love for man ; 
For lie's gone to meet the Saviour, 

In a bright and hapjiy laud. 

When his work on earth was o'er, 

He thought it better to depart, 
And be with Christ on yon bright shore. 

Where dwell the pure in heart. 
And we hope one day to meet him 

In the mansions of the blest. 
Where the wicked cease from troubling 

And the weary are at rest. M. D. P. 

Since tlie death of Elder Parker, of whom a memo- 
rial will be found on pages 598 and 599, his two sons 
have been ordained as ministers of the Gospel and are 
now active pastors. Miss Mollie is very nearly blind, 
and no wonder that she wished to present her tribute 
to the memory of her " dear father. '' 

The following was written by W. B. Williams in 
memory of his uncle John Creighton. 

Death has taken from our band, 

A husband, a fatiier, and friend; 
He was grasped by the icy hand. 

The angel of death doth send. 

His proud, manly form well known. 

Was a proof of his noble heart ; 
The sjiirit from the body flown, 

The loss — it pierced like a dart. 



744 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

The vigor of life just come, 
The cherished dawn of life's hap'ness, 

When he by death was carried home, 
To dwell iu realms of brightness. 

He resigned life at death's call ; 

At the sound of the awful knell. 
He closed those loved eyes for the pall. 

But God doeth all things well. 

His spirit has gone to rest. 

In the bosom of him he loved ; 
There he will be forever blest, 

In eternal realms above. 

Beloved wife, you should not mourn 

For your loved, but departed one ; 
His presence from you only torn, 

You'll meet when life's race is run. 

Children you should try to gain 
A place by your dear tiither's side; 

In heaven alone there is no pain, 
No cares our life to betide. 

When we've done Go I's holy will 

Here in mortal and sinful claj-, 
He will say to our breath " be still," 

Our souls shall be borne away. W. B. W. 

Besides the few works nieiitioned in the first of this 
chapter some works of fiction liave been lately published 
by one who was for a time a resident here, Mrs. Maria 
Darrington Deslonde. The first is a novel, quite a 
large volume, "The Miller of Silcott mill," Georgia 
scenes, a very well written work of its kind. Pub- 
lished 1875. The second is called " John Maribel." 

GROVE niLL POEMS. 

All Incident. 

A friend had I of rarest worth. 

So faithful, steady, kind and tiue, 
In joy or sorrow, grief or mirth. 



LITERARY PRODUCTIONS AND CONCLUSION. 745 

Each throbbing pulse my friend I'elt too. 
The hours in contemplation spent 

Were rendered cheerful by her voice, 
To each, she magic fleetness lent 

And bade my wearied soul rejoice. 

In toilsome journeyings. when tho.se 

Who bore the cherished name of friend 
Had vanished from my ardent gaze, 

This one of all alone remained 
My counsellor, my constant guide. 

How oft from her I've wisdom sought. 
Assured I should not be denied 

Each lineal feature might have taught. 

'Twas then I loved my gentle friend, 

Who did not from my side depart; 
Our lives in union seemed to blend. 

And every pulse in concord start. 
But ah, how sad — one day I gazed 

Upon that dear familiar face, 
'Twas mute and still, no feature stirred. 

The pulse beat not, each throb had ceased. 

And now my soul to grief give birth. 

All, all that yielded joy hath fled, 
That life which is of priceless worth 

Has gone — my friend alas is dead. 
A close companion now no more, 

My hours must pass without a token ; 
No hand to guide life's journey o'er. 

The mainspring of my icatch is broken. 
Grove Hill, Nov. 1851. E. H. Ball. 

MIDNIGHT irUSIXGS. 

My heart is sad and wear}^ 

Wear}- and alone 
Within — without is dreary, 

Dreary, sad and lone. 
Hashed in the solemn hour of midnight dark and drear 
The breathings of my spirit low is all the sound I hear. 



746 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Strange fancies round me hover, 

Hover soft and low, 
Fain would my soul discover. 

Discover all they show. 
Blest message from the spirit land, it cheers my drooping heart. 
And yields its soothing power to aid and brighten every part. 

Instead of grief it giveth, 

Giveth joy and ease, 
Hope from despair receiveth, 

Receiveth joy and peace. 
" Whatever seems the saddest -will suniy brighter grow, 
And where the cloud hangs heaviest will gleam the brighter bowy 

Thus came the welcome tribute. 

Tribute to my heart. 
And bade its floods of sorrow, 

Sorrow e'er depart. 
From whence the Oracle appeared or whither fled away 
Is not for mortal here to know, its dwellings none may saj'. 
GiiovE Hill, Ala., Jan., 19 1853. E. H. Ball. 

GEMS. 

This world with all its countless throng. 

Of sad and joyous hearts, 
"With all the varied phase of mind 

That crowd its spacious marts — 
Has treasured gems for every eye. 

Gifts for each eager grasp, 
For young and old, for rich and poor, 

And each fastidious taste. 

Some seek the gems which glitter most. 

The diamond's brilliant glare. 
The golden ore, the precious dust, 

And rubies rich and rare. 
Some prize the mind which soars aloft, 

And seeks in storied fame 
To build a monument to worth 

A bright ancestral name. 

Some think in Friendships path awaits. 
The gem of purest ray. 



LITERARY PRODUCTIONS AND CONCI.USIOX. 747 

While I.ove holds out the lurid baits 

To tempt the choice away. 
Some covet beauty's tickle glow, 
" Though fragile as a flower," 
They bow to shrines of mortal clay. 

And own their " magic power." 

But not for these, no none of these. 
Would life be worth the strife, 
With yearnings deeper, deeper far. 

The immortal soul is rife. 
One gem alone gilds all the rest. 

Presides o'er ever}' sense, 
Sheds forth its beams from heaven to earth 
The Peaul of price immense. 
Grove Hili., 185(i. E. II. Woodard. 

Among these fugitive pieces, and belonging strictly 
to the county of Clarke, the following are also inserted, 
not for any special poetic merit, but because of associa- 
tions in the county connected with them. 

The first records an actual Clarke county incident of 
1851. The others belong to the fall and winters of 
1877 and 1879, and have this peculiarity that they were, 
with the exception of a few lines in one, written in the 
open air beneath the blue sky, as the writer was jour- 
neying from ])lace to phice. They claim nothing there- 
fore in the line of p(dish : 

MY MOCKING BIRD. 

■ I caught a royal prize, 
A bird with brilliant eyes, 

With plumage fair and bright; 
Child of the " Sunny South," 
Bird of the mocking mouth, 
I held it with delight. 

Into the house 1 bore. 
To view my fondling o'er. 
And nurse this mocker true; 



748 CiAKKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Alas! it left my hands, 
Forsook those fVieiull}' bands, 
liilo the lli-e it Hew. 

Vain then was liiuuau aid! 
Though edbrls kind were made, 

Its little life to save; 
But soon the glowing embers, 
Crisped all its tender members, 

'Twas rest'ued for the grave! 

. Alas poor little bird ! 
No one thy wailing heard. 

Cruel, but quick thy death ; 
Hushed soon thy melody, 
Boon was thy spirit free, 

(^uiek fled thy little breath. 

And now, my bright, lost treasure, 
Could 1 in sweeter measure, 

Like thee a carol sing; 
Soft, plaintive, sad, and free, 
It should thy re(|uiem be, 
l>ird of the spotted wing! 
Gkovk IIiLi.. Deiember, 1851. T. H. B. 

STRAY '1MK)U(JI1T5^ 

Written Nov. 16, 1877, Friday afternoon, during 
three and a lialf miles travel between the Woods Bluff 
road and Clarke's store, the pommel of the pony's 
saddle being the writing desk. 

The world is ilark with none to love; 

The wi)rld is dull with naught to do; 
And without light from heaven above, 

In vain earth's jKUhways we pursue. 

There must lie lioi)o for better things, 
There must be hope for brightiM' days 

"While round frail joys affection clings 
And we press on in toilsome ways. 



LITERAllV I'UODUCTIONS AND ( ONCL^SION. 749 

TlKTft must lie liope to clioer tlic smil, 

If we Hunuounl the caroH of lit'', 
And k(Hi) tli(; wounded si»iiit whole, 

And lose not coum^'c in 'I'e strife. 

And liope there may ))e, Ibr us all, 

Hope to the soul like iinchor strong, 
A lioi)e not dim, nor frail, nor small, 

A liope for aye and ages long. 

Tjong ri'aeliin^-, on and nii for aye, 

A hope that iiihls iifii's darkest uiglit. 
That shines ahmg the loneliest way, 

With li<-;unsof heaven-horn loveliest light. 

And work there is for all to do, 

Work suited to each heart and liaiid, 
Abiding work, secure and truc^ 

In every corner of our land. 

7\iid tlicre is ever One trt love, 
The (4ood One, Father, Saviour, Friend, 

Who sends to us the Heavenly Dove, 
Whose love for us need nev<r end. 

And there are hearts to love and hle.ss, 
Bweet lips to sing some soothing lays, 

Earth-forms to love and to caress, 

Kind frienils to cheer us all our days. 

These may not wear the hrigiitest lines. 

Of earth-horn beauty, iK^auly rare. 
But we may always find and choose, 

Those that are gentle, good, and fair. 

Then let us work, and love, and dare, 

Karth is not dull nor dark nor lone. 
We sow, in hope that we shall share 

Uich harvests front the seed well sown. 

T. H. B 



750 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 



Written for David A. Chapman and Miss Lillie H. Woodard and 
presented to tlmn on their bridal eve. 

To-night within this home there's light; 

It is the light of love; 
And love forever will make bright 

The home that is above. 

But earth-born love needs heaven-born grace ; 

And when entwined in one, 
Then children of this human race 

Find happiness begun. 

Two lives within this home to-night, 

Are blending into one ; 
True hearts and hands we here unite, 

Pledged till life's work is done. 

Once, in the land of Galilee, 

To Cana's village small, 
A Jewish marriage rite to see 

There came the Lord of all. 

Though not within a princelj' hall, 

That bride, I think, was fair ; 
And Jesus Christ himself the}' call. 

And his disciples there. 

Here, in this broad and sunny land, 

Home of the fig and vine, 
Within that Saviour's love we stand. 

And on his arm recline. 

His blessing therefore we expect ; 

In confidence we pray ; 
His words we do not dare neglect. 

But heed them day by day. 

Young wedded pair, I wish you joy. 

Serene, abiding, true, 
Which nothing earthly can destroy. 

Which love will tcive to you. 



LITERARY PRODUCTIONS AND CONCLUSION. 751 

Trials and cares you're sure to meet, 

It is the earthly lot; 
No path is trod by human feet, 

On which God sends them not. 

They may be light, they may be few, 

But should your hearts be tried. 
At faith's pure altar love renew, 

And kneel down side by side : 

Yes, kneel and to your Father pray. 

And he will give you light. 
Light that can cheer your darkest day. 

And gild your gloomiest night. 

Remember what a power is love; 

Remembei- what a friend is God ; 
Tho' sometimes from his throne above, 

He lays on us his chastening rod. 

Remember that to purify, 

To cleanse from earthly dross. 
Is one of the great reasons why 

He lays on us some cx'oss. 

Then bravely by each other stand. 

Be strong when comes the " weary da}*," 

And, as you have been joined in hand, 
So may j'ou be in beart alway. 

—r. H. B. 



Written for Miss Genie II. Woodurd and Dr. Gross Chapman on tJte 
occasion of their marriafje at Grove Hill. 

Almost two years have swiftly glided by. 
Since here we met on Lillie's bridal day; 

And I suppose again I ought to try. 
To weave a little, simple, joyous lay. 

To-night our Genie is the radiant bride. 

She gives to-nigiit her liand with heart of love; 

Lovely and sweet, not marred by earthly pride. 
She looks as peaceful as the sunny dove. 



752 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDITSTGS. 

I have not heard upon this quiet night, 
The carol of our garden moclving-bird; 

But I have caught the ghince of ej'es of light, 
And bird-like music in some hearts has stirred. 

The sky above this home to-night is blue, 
The stars of glory now are shining there ; 

And if our hearts are brave and pure and true. 
The sky of life, far up, will still be fair. 

The household circle is unbroken yet. 
Father and mother, brother, sisters dear; 

And one is added, one, the household pet, 
For Lillie's little Hattie Strother 's here. 

That Lillie with her husband here should stand. 
And bring their little one is surely meet; 

Bright is the home where dwells her loving band. 
And where she guards the tread of little feet. 

"A heritage " are children " from the Lord ;" 
Sweetly the echoes of their voices sound, 

And bind our hearts with love as with a cord. 

Where health and plenty spread their comforts round. 

We train our daughters up and they go out; 

Upon them beams a Providence benign ; 
In a few yeiiis is heard the joyous shout 

Of children in their homes at day's decline. 

'Tis sweet to have a home, an earthly home, 
And when at night around the household tree, 

All meet beneath the stars of heaven's blue dome. 
Content and light and love ought there to be. 

Yet sweeter and more joyous will it be. 

To enter in to the Celestial Home ; 
An ecstacy of joy, it seems to me. 

Will then fill hearts that oft in sadness roam. 

Now Genie from her childhood's home must go; 

She enters upon woman's destined lot. 
To be for man a help and not a woe; 

Yet childhood's home can never be forgot. 



LITEKARY PHODrCTIONS AND CONCLUSION. 753 

For lier, and fnv her clioseu guide and IViend, 
Now let us breathe a fervent, earnest i)rayer, 

That wheu tor tliem at length shall conu' life's end, 
Tiiey may find light beyond this viewless air. 

T. H. B. 

Erplanatnry notfs. On the iiiu'lit of tlic inarriaij;e of Misn Lillie Woodard, in 
December 1877, a mocking-bird in tbe evergreen peach tree in Judge Woodard's 
garden sang a spring-like song, as though rejoicing at the event. The allusion is 
to this song in the tliird stanza. 

The home alluded to in the si.xtli stanza is the residence of Da^ id A. Chapman, 
tlnee miles from Grove Hill, where with them his mother resides. Outwardly 
beautiful in its surroundings it is indeed a hovie, a fine specimen of what a 
Christian home may be. 

Ilattie Strother Chapman, referred to in the tifth stanza, was Judge Woodard's 
first grandi-liild, in whose dark, earnest eyes a world of wonder lay, a very quiet 
and winning child, now in Paradise. 

"Writlen for Miss Oeorciin Willinms of Baslii and Georc/e Mer/fjinson. 

" This world is full of beauty 

Just like the worlds above. 
And if we did our duty 

It might be full of love." 

These words, by some one spoken, 

Contain a living truth ; 
But bright ties oft are broken. 

That bind our hearts in youth. 

We do not do our duly. 

In filling earth Mith love; 
We drink not in the l^eauty. 

That glows around, above. 

But, Georgia, I am trusting , 

That you may gain success. 
Your heart and life adjusting 

To Scripture righteousness. 

Tiie dew-drop of the morning 

Soon dries beneath tile sun ; 
To us it giveth warning 

That life's race soon is run. 

While earthly life is fleeting. 
Your own but scarce begun, 
48 



754 CLARKE AND ITS SUKKOUNmNGS. 

Yoii have a hope of moetiu,<r 
Where comes no setting sun. 

The (lew-drop in the lily 

Spoils not its fragrance sweet; 

But when the night grows chilly 
Some flowery petals meet. 

If then the tears of sorrow 
Should dim your lustrous eye, 

Be mindful that the morrow 
Finds love still nestling nigh. 

This truth will bear repeating, 
That in the soul lies worth ; 

For girlhood's charms are fleeting, 
They fade like things of earth. 

And may you, now jiossessing 
This youthful heart and hand, 

Both And and prove a blessing; 
By her in trials stand. 

Your single life is ending; 

You're husl)and now and wife; 
And may your two souls blending 

Share a loving, happy life. 

Be faithful to each other; 

In joy and sorrow pray; 
You have a Friend, a Brother, 

In tiie realms of perfect day. 

In him through life believing, 
You will And that life is sweet ; 

And from him grace rec( iving, 
In Heaven at last you'll meet. 

T. H. B. 



LITERARY PRODUCTIONS AND CONCLUSION. 755 



TO MINNIE. 

Eiiilit years of a^e, daughter of the Hon. J. S. and 
^Irs. Ai,I(;k Dickinson, of Grove Hill, Alabama. 

I'm glad I've seen you, Minnie, 

And touched your auburn hair, 
And looked into your dove-like eyes, 

And on your cheeks so fair. 

I'm glad you live here, Minnie, 

Though in a world of care. 
To help to make some pathways bright, 

And help some griefs to share. 

I hope you'll learn well, Minnie, 

And seek for words of truth. 
And treasure up bright gems of thought 

In these sweet years of youth. 

I trust you'll right do, Minnie, 

And ever shun the wrong. 
For truth and right, combined in one, 

Forevermore are strong. 

May you be happy, Minnie, 

In loving what is fair. 
And spend your years of earthly life, 

Outside the clouds of care. 

But best of all now, Minnie, 

I hope you'll love one Friend, 
Who loves his own disciples here, 

With love that does not end. 

And if ypu love him, Minnie, 

The S iviour of our race. 
He'll fill your heart with living love. 

And grant you his rich grace. 

And then in Heaven, ^Minnie, 

In Paradise aljove. 
You can learn at length the meaning, 

Of "everlasting love." 

T. H. B. 



756 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

A LETTEE. 

My dearest, darling one, 
Great blessing of my life. 

Child reared beneath this sun, 
M3' own sweet, chosen wife ; — 

It seems to me I hear 
A little plaint of sadness. 

Because I am not near 
On Christmas, day of gladness; 

Because I've staid away 
So long from home and thee ; 

Because, day after day, 
My form thou canst not see; 

Because I tarrj' here. 

In this bright sunny clime, 

Where man}' friends are near, 
And swiftly flies the time; — 

It seems to me, I say. 
As thougli my ears could hear, 

A little plaintive lay, 

That breathes in sadness drear. 

My darlirrg, (lo not grieve. 

This air is soft and mild. 
But can one e'er believe 

It has my heart beguiled V 

These woods are bright and green : 
These running streams are clear; 

The joyous l)irds are seen; 
But THOU, thou art not nenrl 

And here are sunny ej^es. 
And they seem fair to me. 

Their pleasant looks I prize. 
For they ai-e near to thee. 

Dear kindred these of thine. 
Who of like blood partake ; 

I call them also mine ; 
I love them for thy sake. 



LITERARY PRODUCTIONS AND CONCLUSION. 757 

Bui hero iiwliile I tarry, 

If all my work were clone, 
To see our Lillie marry. 

Beneath December's sun. 

And I have work on hand, 

This toilsome work of brain. 
Searching the records of this land, 

That once belonged to Spain. 

This " land," I mean this South, 

At first called Flowery Earth, 
Where birds of mocking mouth, 

And 1)right eyed girls have birth. 

It is not native beauty, 

That holds me like a dream ; 
It is the voice of dut}% 

Not sun, nor bird, nor stream. 

Then, darling, do not grieve, 

Because I am not near : 
Upon this Christmas eve 

I send thee words of cheer. 

My work is almost o'er, 

I hasten back to thee, 
I count the weeks no more, 

Swift may the moments be. 

The evergreens I leave, 

'Mid which I love to roam ; 
This little lay I weave, 
To say, Pm coming home. 
Grove Hill, Alabama, December, 1877. T. H. B. 

CONCLUSION. 

Rupiflly now are those pleasrtiit labors drawing to a 
close, and, as in the Introduction, so here, in this con- 
clusion, the author takes the liberty of presenting a 
few personal remarks. 

I spent some delightful months collecting the mate- 



758 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

rial which has been wrought into these pages, welcomed 
at the firesides, and at the hospitable boards, of so 
many pleasant families whose kindness and courtesies 
will never be forgotten. Indeed, the visit of two 
months in 1874, to which allusion was made in the 
introduction, although I have enjoyed delightful visits 
in New York City, in New England, and in the West, 
was to me the fairest and richest type of an entrance 
into Paradise, that I ever expect to experience in this 
world. Several peculiar circumstances, which can never 
all unite again, made it such. 

I have been aware while preparing the manuscript 
and correcting the proof sheets tor this volume, that, 
besides the more mature minds of those who would 
look over these pages, there were in the county of 
Clarke many promising boys growing up into manhood, 
and many bright eyed girls, among whom were those 
of my acquaintance whom I have ventured to call 
Golden Hair, Sunny Look, .Dimpled Cheeks, the Little 
Violets, Ruby Lips and Daisy, the White Fawn, Dia- 
mond Eyes, the Quiet Students, Rose Bud, the Dove, 
the Lily, the Gazelle, and the Snow Bird, besides many 
with whom I had formed no acquaintance, who may be 
expected to read this with the keen insight of ingen- 
uous youth ; and I have even thought, (tor what 
author does not expect his work to live?) that chil- 
dren who are yet to be, whose names are known only 
to the Omniscient One, would grow up in this beauti- 
ful abode, and refer with some true delight to these 
pages, as containing a trustworthy record of their 
great-grandparents. Of all these I have thought as 
the TRUE CKiTics for whose searching eyes and culti- 
vated taste it became me to choose words wisely and 
to weigh them well. 



LITEKAKY PRODUmoXS AND CONCLUSION. 759 

For them, C'S])ecially for those whom I shall never 
see, I have these words to add : that I have loved this 
region and this work, if not with the love of one born 
and reared amid these pines, certainly with the love of 
one whose dearest earthly friend found her childhood's 
home among the noted spots referred to in this book, 
where were born, some three hundred and fifty years 
ago, the Indian maidens led away in De Soto's train 
after the destruction of their city; and certainly with 
the love of one who loves all glorious beauty. And 
while I may reasonably hope yet to meet in the dear 
home circles some for whom I write, and enjoy bright 
hours when the mocking birds are singing, or the figs 
are ripening, or the cane maturing, I hope yet to 
meet those whom I have learned to love, and those 
who will one day take their places here, amid still 
lovelier scenes and in a yet brighter clime, where all 
pure aifections and the high enjoyments of an exalted 
and ennobled existence will know no weariness and 
reach no end. 

THE AUTHOR'S NOTE, 1877. 

Leaving the landing at Jackson after midnight of 
December 30th, that is in the earl}' morning of Decem- 
ber 31st, arriving at Mobile about twelve hours after- 
wards, and witnessing the magnificent })ageants of the 
three great societies of Mo])ile on the streets that night, 
when was represented the Triumph of Aurelian, — en- 
joying exceedingly the quiet and order, the beauty and 
magnificence, the urbanity and refinement, of the city 
of Mobile that night, — early in the morning of January 
1st, I left the orange groves, the singing birds, the flow- 
ing streams of the South to return to the region of the 
Cireat Lakes. 



760 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

After daylight, January 2, 18Y8, I left St. Louis on 
a Chicago bound train, and never did the Grand Prai- 
rie of Illinois seem so dreary, so bleak, and so uninvit- 
ing, as on that day, clothed in wintry garb, it appeared 
in such marked and vivid contrast with the sheltered 
hills and valleys among the pines. On that same night 
was reached the home at Crown Point, 1879, 1881. 
Not proceeding as rapidly as was anticipated in placing 
the gathered material in its present form, I spent the 
fall of 1879 in the county of Clarke, returning home 
just before Christmas, and publishing in 1880 the Lake 
of the Red Cedars, spent the winter, and spring of 1881 
in the South. The fall, winter and spring of 1881 and 
1882 being spent in the county of Clarke, now at last, 
in the summer of 1882, the last chapter of this work 
goes through the press. 

Here fittingly may be recorded the names of two 
friends in this county to whom I have been indebted 
for financial aid in carrying this work through the press, 
the Hon. James S. Dickinson, now no longer of earth, 
and the Hon. Eli S. Thornton of West Bend. To these 
I add the name of one in tlie county of Lake, state of 
Indiana, who has aided in the same way, Oscar Dinwid- 
dle of Plum Grove, postofiice Orchard Grove, a mem- 
ber of the National Grange. Three better friends than 
these could not easily be found. 

For constant interest and encouragement in this 
work I repeat here the name of a good friend, Isaac 
Grant, Editor at Grove Hill ; and also for early en- 
couragement and a constant interest and for free access 
to his library, I must add the name of the Hon. John 
W. Portis of Suggsville. To add to these five any other 
names would be to find no place to stop. General ac- 



LITEUARY PRODUCTIONS AND CONCLUSION. 761 

knowledgeinents are therefore added to all who have so 
kindly encouraged and helped. 
Saturday, August 26, 1882. 



THE MAP. 



The citizens of Clarke will surely be gratified to pos- 
sess even a small sectional map of the county. The 
author cannot cUini that it is perfectly accurate; but it 
is the closest approach to accuracy which circumstances 
would enable and allow him to make; and he is sure it 
is the most free from inaccuracies of any map of the 
same region yet made. For the course of the rivers 
and the general outline and some locations he has de- 
pended upon Latourrette's Map of Alabama, which is 
considered good authority. For the course of the 
creeks he has depended mainly npon the sectional map 
made in Mobile, for the County Commissioners, in 1874,a 
map which claims to have been made from original sur- 
veys and official documents. For the boundaiies of the 
beats he has followed the official boundaries in the 
records of the Commissioners' Court, transferring word 
boundaries to a map outline; a work which was found 
to be tedious and difficult, requiring patience, persever- 
ance, and some ingenuity ; and if a tolerable accuracy 
has been secured here those who know the nature of the 
difficulties can appreciate the success. 

Other maps have been consulted with profit and 
especially a late township map issued by the United 
States Government from official sources of information. 
Pickett's statements and delineations have also been 
examined and compared, and other works and authori- 



762 OLAKKE AND ITS SUKROUNDINGS. 

ties. A nuinber of localities the autlior has ohtained 
by his own eti^'orts wliile making researches in 18TT, and 
of the accuracy of these ho is very sure. lie hopes that 
the imperfections Ayhich may be found will not impair 
seriously the usefulness of this map, a map which has 
cost no little labor. 

From the map it maybe seen that the width of the 
county at its northern limit is twentj'-four and a half 
miles; that through the centre of townships ten, or from 
a mile south" of Lower Peach Tree to^West Bend, the 
distance from river to river is thirty-eight and a half 
miles; and that the greatest width of the count}' is a 
mile south of this line and is nearly forty miles. Also, 
that on the line between the townships eight and nine, 
just south of Grove Hill, the distance from river to river 
is thirty-four miles; that between St. Stephens and 
Gosport it is twentv-live and a half miles; and that 
between Fort Carne3% or Carney's Bluff, and Gaines- 
town it is only twelve miles. From river to river at the 
Chit-Off it is about four miles; From the Cut-Off due 
north to Fort Carney it is about fourteen miles; and 
from the Cut-Off, on the iirst range line east, to the 
northern limit of the county, it is tifty-tive and a half 
or two-thirds miles. It also appears that the water-shed 
line or Choctaw limit, once the eastern boundary of the 
county, distant from Tombigbee, a mile south of Fort 
Carney, onh^ about two miles, runs in a north-easterly 
direction, comparatively near to the Alabania,and is dis- 
tant from it, opposite Lower Peach Tree, only six and 
a half miles, when it bears north-west and crosses the 
county line fifteen miles from the Tombigbee and 
twenty-one and half miles from the Alabama. It also 
appears that Choctaw Bluff, Grove Hill, Choctaw Cor 



LlT?:iiAKY PRODUCTIONS AND CONCLfJSlON. 763 

ner, Clay Hill, and Shiloli, are on nearly the same 
meridian; and still further north, and hut a few miles 
east, are Tuscumbia and Chicago. 

The meridian of St. Stephens, coming up from the 
Bay just east of Mobile, corresponds very nearly with 
one of the counted meridians of the earth. According to 
the official authority of the General Land Office at 
AVashington. it is two minutes west of the eighty-eighth 
meridian from Greenwich and a very little more than 
two minutes east of the eleventh meridian west from 
Washington. '■■ From the Greenwich eighty-eightli it is 
distant about a mile and a half and from the eleventli 
meridian of longitude it is distant about a mile and 
three quarters. The three lines for general purposes 
and on ordinary maps may be considered as one line. 
Brewer gives the west longitude of Alabama as 10' 38'. 
It extends bevond 11°. 

This combined line, this eighty-eighth meridian, 
seems to find no town of any size in its path from the 
Gulf to the Great Lakes. + Leaving St. Stephens, which 
like the Troy of old — Troja fuit — was but is not, this 
meridian passes close by the north-western corner of 
Ala-bama, cuts the south-western extremity, "the 
pocket '' of Indiana, passes a few miles west of Chicago 
and Milwaukee, crosses the extreme south-western por- 
tion of Green Bay, and passes northward through the 
center of Lake Superior. It seems to be a townless 
meridian, but probably some villages are situated upon 

*The author gratefully acknowledges the receipt, from J. A. Williamson, Com 
missioiier, of ♦ towns-hip map of the State of Alabama, on a scale of twelve miles 
to the inch, compiled from official records in the General Land Office, and pulilished 
by that office in 1878. 

Ellicotts Corner is a large stone placed in position in 18()5 where the St. Ste- 
phen^ meridian crosses the base line or latitude 31°. 

tOn the map lately referred to, published by the Land Office at Washington, 
the eighty -eighth meridian passes through about the exact center of Mobile Bay. 



764 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

it. Pineville in Marengo is close beside it. Return- 
ing once more to the map, the sections will be found 
numbered in the northwestern township, which is 
township twelve, range two west. The sections in 
all the other townships have corresponding numbers. 
The ranges are numbered at the bottom of the first 
row of townships and the townships on the margin. 
Grove Hill is on section thirty-three, township nine, 
range three east. It is, then, east of the St. Stephens 
meridian, about fourteen and a half miles, or one- 
fourth of a degree ; a degree of longitude being, in 
latitude thirty one and a half, very nearly fifty -nine 
miles. (On the equator a degree of longitude is now 
said to be sixty-nine miles and one hundred and sixty- 
four thousandths of a mile. At latitude twenty-nine 
degrees it is sixty miles and a half. And in lati- 
tude forty-three degrees it is fifty miles and sixty-six 
hundredths. The degree of latitude between thirty- 
one and thirty-two degrees is sixty-eight miles and 
eighty-eight, nearly eighty-nine hundredths. The 
northern boundary of the county is therefore almost 
c^'actly the parallel of thirty-two degrees. The town 
' L Jackson is in latitude thirty-one and a half degrees. 

A number of places will be found located on this 
nap, never probably designated on a map before. 
Others would have been added to them if the sections 
and townships could have been ascertained. 

On the whole, the author hopes that the map will 
be acceptable to the citizens of the region which it 
illustrates, and a contribution, however small, to the 
true geography of our country. 

CiTRONELLE, nearly west of Fort Stoddart and Mt. 
Vernon, thirty miles from Mobile, was established by 



LITEKAKY PRODUCTIONS AND CONCLUSION. 765 

Charles C. Langdon. Tie was editor of the ''Advei'- 
tiser," a Whig representative to the state legishiture, 
and for a time mayor of the city of Mobile. He 
founded Citronelle before the civil war, and engaged in 
horticulture, raising fruits and vines, planting orchards 
and vineyards, having retired from public life. He 
was opposed to secession, but maintained his allegiance 
to the State of Alabama. 

Near, probably just below the Sun Flower'Bend, as 
marked on the map, is Oven Bluff. This is in Clarke 
county, on the east side of the river. This bluff was 
fortified , and troops were stationed there for most of 
the time during the war. Above this bluff" but a short 
distance, and on the east side of the river, in Clarke 
county, was located the Confederate States Navy Yard, 
where workmen were building several war vessels in 
the spring of 1865. After the close of ^lostilities these 
were burned by the Confederate autliorities. Near 
this navj^ yard were situated the Old Salt Works, the 
Central being near Salt Mountain, and the Upper near 
Old St. Stephens. 

St. Stephens, wliicli is shown upon the map, was 
"on one of the grandest and most picturesque bluff's 
on our rivers.'' Its establishment, and growth, and 
importance as the first capital, and its decay, are me - 
tioned in the history. Says the Clarke county edit • 
"The magnilicent bluff' was often promenaded b^ yj\- 
ous crowds of the young, the g'ay, and the mor^ medi- 
tative, also ; but soon after it was shorn of its capito- 
lian glory, it waned^ and waned, and died. And now 
there is hardly left one stone upon another to mark the 
site where stood the proud capital of the growing ter- 
ritory of Alabama." The modern St. Stephens, which 



766 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

is the county seat of Wasliington county, is three miles 
inland and west from the deserted town. 

On Nannahubba Island a road is marked. Along 
this road, in the earlier times, many travellers and 
many troops have passed, Plere in October 1814,. 
Jackson's army of two thousand and eight hundred 
men, passed from their camp on the west side of the 
river under the command of General Coffee, and 
stopped for rest at Fort Montgomery, on their way to 
capture Pensacola. General Jackson himself on the 
26th of October was at Coifee's camp! Fort Mont- 
gomery, near the desolated Fort Mims, was built under 
the superintendence of Colonel 'I'homas H, Benton. 

Glancing up the river the eye falls upon Choctaw 
Bluff, and not far above is seen Fkencii's Landing. 
The location of the old Maubilia has been assigned to 
these two places. 

A short distance above occurred the Canoe Fight. 
Heturning to the west side of Nannahubba Island, 
there. May 10, 1865, Commodore Farrand surrendered 
to the United States authorities the steamers Nashville, 
Southern Republic, Morgan Heroine, Black Diamcmd,. 
and the Baltic, the boats then remaining of the Con- 
federate navy. 

Baldwin county, which appears upon the map, 
extending from Little River southward to the Bay, is 
the largest county in the state, is larger than the state 
of Rhode Island, and is "a vast pine forest.'' It con- 
tains already many lumber mills and exports considera- 
ble lumber. Upon its soil have bivouacked the armies 
of Bienville; of Packenham, and Weatherford, of Jack- 
son ; and of General Canby. 

The entire southern portion of this map presents 



LITERARY PRODUCTIONS AND CONCLUSION. 767 

places which are historic. Spaniards, French, British, 
Indians, Americans, have left marks and mementos 
not soon to be effaced or forgotten. 

Married by Rev. T. H. Ball, in Clarke county, Ala- 
bama: 

1. Petkr Ctwynn to Sarah B. Holder, April 6, 
1864. 

2. William G. F(»uxtai\ to Maroaret M. Creigh- 
TON, February 16, 1859. 

3. Francis P. Martix to Margaret C. Dawson, 
December 15, 1859. 

4. David A. Chapman to Lillie H. Woodard, De- 
cember 19, 1877. 

5. Dr. Gross S. Chapman to Eugenie H. Woodard, 
November 26, 1879. 

6. George S. Megginson to Georgia L. Williams,. 
December 11, 1879. 

CHURCH DIRECTORY. 1879. 
BAPTIST. 

Grove Hill Church meets the Saturday^ before the 
1st Sabbath in each month. Public worshijj on the Isl- 
and 3d Sabbaths of each month. / 

Sunday school every Sabbath at threfc P.M. Jnliko 
Woodard, Superintendent. /^ 

Pastor, Elder James W. Dickinson. 

Clerk, R. J. Woodard, J> 

Treasurer, J. W. Cunningham, 

Deacons, J. S. Dickinson, Isaac Grant, J. Tomp- 
kins. 

Horeb Church has public worship on 2d and 4th 
Sabbaths in each month. Sunday School at ten A.M. 
J. H. Creighton, superintendent. 



768 CLAKKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Pastor, Elder William Bill, 

Clerk, J(3lin Dacj; 

Deacons, J. H. Creigliton and George W. Hill. 

Amity Church meets on Saturday before each 3d 
Sunday in the month and on 3d Sundays. 

Sunday School at 

Pastor, W. H. De Witt, 

Clerk, J. Foreman; 

Deacons, A. II. Rogers, J. M. Carter, H. Garrett, 
John R. Nettles. 

Pleasant Grove Church meets on the 3d Saturday 
and Sunday of each month. 

Pastor Elder Robert De Witt. 

Clerk John Pettit; 

Deacons John Pettit and Robert Bumpers. 
^ Sabbath School meets at nine o'clock every Sunday 
nio.i'ning. 

SLuperintendent John Pettit. 

Not>complete. 

METHODIST. 

S'lv'gsville Circuit. 

.-.turday "before 1st Sunday at Mrs. Phillips on 
Pigeon Creek. 

1st Sunday at Gosport. 

Saturday before 2d Sunday at Fort Madison. 

2d Sunday at Suggsville. 

Friday before 3d Sunday at Bethel. 

Saturday at Rockville. 

3d Sunday at Gainestown and Barlows Bend. 

Saturday before 4th Sunday at Shady Grove. 

4th Sunday at Amity. 

Preacher in chars-e Rev. J. H. James. 



LITKRAllY PRODICTIONS AND CONCLUSION. 7(l9 

Grove Hill Circuit. 

Saturday before 1st Sunday at Wesley's Ciiapel. 
1st Sunday at Union Gamp Ground; evening at Mt. 
Zion. 

Saturday before 2d Sunday at Hoi)e\vell. 

2d Sunday Jackson. 

Saturday before 8d Sunday Mt. Pleasant. 

3d Sunday Coffeeville. 

4tli Sunday Grove Hill. 

Preacher in Charge Rev. I. F. Pilbro. 

Not complete. 

COUliT Dl RECTORY. 1879. 

Chancery Court is held at Grove Hill the 3d Mon- 
day in May and 1st Monday in December of each year. 
Three days each term. 
■ Judge A. W. DiUard. 

Register John E. Morriss. 

Circuit Coi rt is held at Grove Hill in March and 
September, on the 4th Monday. 

Hon. H. T. Toulmin, Judge. 

Thomas B. .. l^orriss, Clerk. 

Postoffices ' Clarke for 1882: Choctaw Blutl', 
Gainestown, Gi sport, Suggsville, .lackson. Walker 
Springs, Grove Hill, Nettleboro, Rural, Choctaw 
Corner, Bashi, I'allahatta Springs, Marvin, Wood's 
Bluff, Coffeeville. Dead Level, Chei-ry, Pickens Land- 
ing, Grney's Bl ff", Vashti, Barlow Bend, Salitpa, 
Singleto.i, Winn. Twenty-four, and not a money 
order othce in tht. tounty nor near its borders. The 
Department at Wa hington ought to make Grove Hill 
such an office. Va; hti, named above, is at present dis- 
I continued. 

49 



770 CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

Population of Chirke according to census of 1880^ 
17,806. 

The following are distances given by some early au- 
thority: From the junction of the two rivers to Mobile 
Bay, fifty miles. From the Bay to St. Stephens, ninety- 
three miles. To Tuskaloosa, two hundred and eighty- 
five miles. To Colnmbus, three hundred miles. 
Length of Tombigbee river, about four hnndred and 
fifty miles'. From the Bay to Claiborne, one hnndred 
and ten miles. To Montgomery, three hnndred miles. 

Distances from Mobile on the Alabama river, accord- 
ing to S. Berney's Hand Book of Alabama, in which 
the distances are given from the best river authorities: 

Choctaw Bluff 1(»4 miles, Gainestown 120, French's 
Landing 125, Dr. Lindsay's 131, Cedar Creek 137, Gos- 
port 142, Claiborne 146, D. Lee's 151, Hamilton's 
Bluff 156, Presnairs Landing 157, Dr. Maiben's 157i, 
M. Cobb's 164, Bell's Landing 174, Feeble' s 18H, 
Lower Peach Tree 183, Yellow Bluff 190, George Gul- 
lett's Gin 200, Clifton 213^, Prairie Bluff 225. 

Distances on the Tombigbee : Bull Pen 75, Frank 
Payne's 79, Oven Bluft' 85, Salt Works 90, Carney's 
Bluff 100, Mouth of Bassett's Creek 1071-, Jackson 110, 
Parkers 111, A. M. Wing's 111^, Mouth of Stave 
Creek 114^, Mouth of Jackson's Creek 118, St. Stephens 
120, Beckhams 123, Hatchatigbee 130, Coffee ville 14(», 
Thornton's Lower Landing 143, E. S. Thornton's 147, 
May's Woodyard 148, Turner's Shoals 152, J. Cowan's 
156,JCunningham's Gin 156, Davis' Bluff 159, Wood's 
Bluff 160, Pickens 169, Nanafalia 19U. 

Distances on Mobile river : Fort Stoddart 45 mile.';, i 
Head of Mobile River or i unction of Alabama and 
Tombigbee 50 miles from Mobile. ' 



LITERARY PRODUCTIONS AND CONCLUSION. 771 

The Hand Book of Alabama is a new work by 
Satfold Berney. In it he adds, to the historic and de- 
scriptive books of AUibauia mentioned in tlie introduc- 
■x tion to this volume, the following: Alabama Manual 
by Joseph Hodgson, Alabama by John F. Milner, and 
The Hill Country of Alabama by Alabama Grreat 
Southern Railroad Company. 



THE LAKE OF THE RED CEDARS, 

12 mo. p]i. 357, 

T. H. BALL, PUBLISHER. 



From the Journal and Messenger, Cincinnati, Aug. 4, 1880. 

We found this volume an interesting narrative and 
biographical sketch of the Baptist cause and Baptist 
workers in the county of Lake, Indiana, beginning with 
the year 1837, when three families of New England 
Baptists made their home on the borders of the beauti- 
ful Lake of the Red Cedars, and set in operation influ- 
ences which will live, "though men die and churches 
become extinct." These New Englanders brought 
with them intelligence, energy and religion, and the 
children reared among such home influences became 
cultured, well-educated and high-principled members 
of society. The volume is intended especially as a 
memorial of Judge Hervey Ball, one of the three pio- 
neers, a man foremost in " every good word and work," 
and yoked to a helpmeet of like nobility of character. 
The glimpse of the home at the lake is a charming one. 
The book is written in a clear, straightforward style, 
by one evidently accustomed to the use of the pen. 

From tlie Sunday School Times, Philadelphia, Sept., 1880. 

It gives much interesting information, chiefly of a 
denominational and local character. 



i 



772 CLAEKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 

From the New England Bibliopolist. 

Aside from its merits as a narrative of religious pro- 
gress, the book contains some interesting family sketch- 
es and personal records. 

From the Rev. Alvah Hovey, D.D., Professor in the Newton Theological 

Institution. i 

Kewton Center, July 16, 1880. 
Key. T. H. Ball : 

My Dear Brother : I have just finished "The Lake 
of the Red Cedars," finding every page of it interest- 
ing, and many a record in it most beautiful and touch- 
ing. I thank you sincerely for sending me the book \ 
as a token of your kind remembrance. I shall never j 
forget the transparent candor of your spirit in the class- 
room, or the evident reverence which you manifested 
for the sacred Scriptures. And I am most happy to 
make the acquaintance, through this book, of your 
parents, brothers, sisters, friends, neighbors, and 
pupils. It seems to me that you have set forth many 
different characters in a very distinct way; so clearly 
indeed that the reader must feel his own heart drawn 
to them tenderly. It seems to me also that the book 
must have a very positive and sweet Christian infiuence. 

Sent by mail on receipt of $1. Address 

REV. T. H. BALL, 

Grove Hill, Alabama. 

Thompson & Powers, 

BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS 

AND 

Blank Book Manufacturers, 

32 NORTH WATER STREET, 

R. E. Thompson, Mobile. MDRTT TT ATA 

C. L. Powers, formerly of Clarke Co., Ala. lYJ-VyjJXJ-jU, X^Ajrv, 



774 



CLARKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 



Explanation of letters and numbers on the map of 
West Bend. 



A. 


Turkey Town Reserva- 


19. 


J. W. Eastis. 


tion. 


20. 


(Eastis' Mill). 


B. 


Mitcliell Reserve. 


21. 


Mrs. E. Cunningham. 


1. 


West Bend Academy. 


22. 


E. E. Cowan. 


Residences of, 


23. 


J. R. Cowan. 


2. 


E. S. Thornton. 


24. 


J. W. Cunningham. 


3. 


Charles May. 


25. 


G. M. Newton. 


4. 


W. J. Thornton. 


26. 


Lewis Cunningham. 


5. 


Dr. Allen. 


27. 


J. T. Simmons. 


6. 


T. J. Cowan. 


28. 


Davis' Bluff. 


7. 


Rev. G. M. Parker. 


29. 


Wood's Bluff. 


8. 


William Pace. 


a. 


Cunningham's wood 


9. 


(Colored Church). 


yard. 


10. 


W. J. Pace. 


b. 


Martin's Landing. 


11. 


Jesse Turner. 


c. 


Cowan's Landing. 


12. 


J. W. Thornton. 


30. 


Witch Creek. 


13. 


A, J. Pace. 


31. 


The Mountain. 


14. 


Dr. Webb. 


32. 


Fort Easeley. < 


15. 


(E. S. Thornton's Up- 


33.33. Kew Road. 


per Landing). 


34. 


Coffeeville. 


16. 


(Ulconush Church.) 


35. 


Bladon Springs. 


17. 


John Pace. 


C. 


0. St. Stephen's Meri- 


18. 


Josiah White. 


dian. 



FOR SA.LE. 

TEN THOUSAND ACRES of Land Cheap for Cash. Much 
of this is woodhmd, watered by tine streams. Included in it 
are also some plantations and one hotel. Inquire of the adminis- 
trator of the estate of J. S. Dickinson, 

Grove Hill, Ala. 



INDEX 



Page. 

A C-hoclaw man y? 

Alabama State 176 

Alabama Territory 171 

Allen, Drury 817 

Allen, Henry 318 

Allen, a. W 363 

Allen, Dr. J. A 387 

Allen, Dr. B. M 523 

Alston. W.J 445 

Alston 896 

Alston, Miss A 425 

Alston, Miss E 427 

Air 3Ioant 350 

Ain -^worth 423 

Anderson 350 

Austin 459 

A scalped woman 152 

■mistead 475 

peculiar marriage 71 

A:1 Burr 82 

A3ll bank 675 

Atison 319 

Ai or's note . 759 

Ai orities 10 

Ar>e 539 

A(.n and Esther 629 

Brver 13 

Bl-kw^i^,^,^,...^^ 56 

Railermen 61 

B<fvles 62 

BitU^ame 81 

Bi.hop, S 319 

Betis 320 

Bumpers 325 

Bumpers 338 

Be:W thicket 334 

Bettis, M 330 

Bishop 339 

Bel 1 342 

Bethel 349 



Pa^e. 

Bethel Association 587 

Betli.s, AErs. M 367 

Benson 363 

Benge 678 

Beautiful creeks 682 

Brook 704 

Bashi caves 555 

Baptist churches 576 

Business at Coffeeville 530 

Brantley 539 

Bradberry 539 

Bolyn, MVs 541 

Ba.ssett 541 

Bashi Skirmisii 162 

Buchanan 449 

Bagby 454 

Brodnax 473 

Bradford 476 

Barnes 224 

Barlow 482 

Blackwell, Mrs 495 

Bank directors at St. Ste- 
phens 441 

Bettis, E. W. and T. J 368 

Boroughs 379 

Burke 381 

Byi-d 825 

Baldwin 705 

Claiborne 458 

Caller, J. D 487 

Caller and Callier 533 

Callier 534 

Caller, Miss Alice 678 

Coale 486 

Courtney 485 

Cleveland 489 

(^arncy 495 

Cammack 503 

Cobb, Dr 538 

Cobb 351 



778 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Cheny Sr*! 

Cowa.i 527 

Cassity 528 

Clarke in-oductious 248 

County census of 1855 239 

Cotton 257 

Claribers Prayer 284 

Chapman 311 

Carter 327 

Clanton, W.J 333 

Catliell 337 

Curtis 341 

Cotton receipts 87 

Clarke organized 89 

Cuts of tive shells 773 

Carter, J. M 344 

Coffeeville cemetery 679 

Catterlin ' G86 

Census finures 699 

Clarke..^ 561 

Creighton. H 595 

Creighton, Alice 344 

Creighton 400 

Courtney 344 

Cook ..'. 002 

Church directory 767 

Court directory 769 

Clarke and ilarengo 177 

Counties organized 178 

Clarke court records 189 

Clarke settlements 195 

Chapman, J. :M. and J. C. . . 361 

Clarke county cavalry 206 

Canoe light ' 165 

Clarke county courts 170 

Crooked limb 350 

Crowell 446 

Choctaw county organized. . 447 

Chamberlain .!...". 449 

Cooper 457 

Creagh 467 

Carleton 470 

Chambers 481 

Coate 370 

Campbell 385 

Crawford, Dr 394 

Creighton, Miss M. C 427 

Crawford, W 443 

Davidson, Mrs 421 

Banzey 379 

Dafflu, J 385 



Pa?.-. 

Daffin 357 

Dawson 352 

Dubose 356 

Doty 383 

Duke 345 

Dellet 456 

Davis, Dr 480 

Denny, Dr 47.' 

Darrington 4f •■ 

De Witt 6C 

Destruction of Fort Mims. . 14 

Diagram of K. massacre 1; 

Double marriages 6' 

Daniel 6» 

De Soto 1 

Durant < 

Davis, ]\Irs. .1 3: 

Doyle o; 

De Witt, James > 

Douo-htrv ,.. 32:: 

Deatou ! :.. 324 

Davis 32"< 

Deaths between 1840 and 

1850 .-^..2r'.- 

Day 5i 

De Loach 5: 

Dickinson S-"- • 

Dumas, Dr 4'" 

Dale r"* 

Deas 

Ethridge 

Easterland .^f\ 

Early settlement of Clarke. 

Early industries 

Early precincts 

Europeans in Clarke 

Early settlers j 

Early ministers _--^ 

Ellis * 

Ezell ^.r: 

Fourth of July celebrations.)- ■" 

Fontaine . . . . ' ^v;. 

Factory meeting );ij 

Ford ; ir,r, 

Fendlev :r 

Ford..". .., 

French occupancy 4 . 

French Protestants ■; 

First American settlers... oi- 
First American school . . . |8r» 
First cotton sin ,'7? 



INDEX. 



781 



Page. 

P;iik('r, Mrs 837 

Prim 338 

I'aint.'i- 338 

I'iiViK; 330 

I'resioii 241 

Period of confiict, the vote, 
flag preseutalions, com- 
pany records, aid societies, 
and otiier war records. 258-283 

Pensioners 670 

Pioneer's from N. C 75 

Patterson 382 

Peach Tree 392 

Price, Merrick 441 

Port is, Mi.ssE. T 434 

Pickens 443 

Pendleton Academy 196 

Physicians at Suggsville . . . 205 

Physicians at Jackson 356 

Pmvell 346 

P/uett 343 

Quarried rocks 492 

River distances. ... . . 770 

Roadways •.■ .'.'702 

IlO(l^ers 487 

l{oiiir<^i:s ^._. 343 

Representatives 712 

Ricliard.sou 533 

Ray 603 

Religious History 565 

Railroad meetings 244 

Rock-castle 331 

Robinson 335 

Rainev, I)r 3-39 

Ross.'. 443 

Rivers 368 

Robins 392 

Revenues 79 

Robinson 363 

Rural Academy 393 

Stringer 355 

Stringer 517 

Slater 521 

Scruggs •. 523 

Spanish, French, and Eng- 
lish residents 38 

Settlements in Clarke 183 

Scat'.jorough 572 

Sewall, L.. 449 

Stutts 381 

Sheriftsof C 382 



Pat,'.;. 

Sigler 386 

Shields 450 

Singular family record. ... 504 

Sketches of Women 423 

Stinip.son, Mrs 436 

Starke 487 

Soiithali, Dr. A. J 395 

Smith 339 

Shamberger 339 

Sons of Temi)erance 218 

Social and home life. ..... 250 

Smith, J)r. X 304 

Singleton 329 

Singleton's spring 683 

Stinsou 319 

Sunday Scho(jls 604 

Savage 542 

Si)eculators 677 

Saltworks 646 

Social organizations 697 

Senators 713 

Stave timber 674 

Storms 673 

Smoot 479 

Smith, Dr 480 

Suggs 481 

Satlbld 451 

Sehoy line 511 

Smith, James 485 

Taylor 360 

Thornton 517 

Troupe 78 

Turner, J. A 519 

Turner, Gro.ss 519 

Turner, x\bner 524 

Turner, B. L 524 

Turner, R 524 

Turner, .Mi.ss B 524 

Talbert 597 

Three Notch road 492 

The Landrum estate 689 

The Present 661 

The Colored people 612 

The South-western Musical 

Convention 610 

The white-black man 632 

The fiviNr«trions of Alabama 634 

The Ijlack tongue 247 

The heroic boy 287 

The Transition period 291 

The white house . . . . . 17? 



INDKX. 



Page. 

The hosi-bt'ar Ib7 

The wolt eaten Iwy 1S8 

The steamer Native 204 

The (.reek War 133 

The map 761 

Tliomaj; 406 

Thorp 348 

Touhnin. Jmlge 439 

Tulip Mania 6'> 

Travelii and eontliot^ 15 

Toposrraphv. Flora. and 

Faima..". 131 

Travis 196 

roasts 300 

Tallahatta Springs 310 

I'rot lines 334 

TraNvick 383 

Tribute of respect to L. E. 

Thornton 6S1 

Undevelopeii resonrces t>51 

• Inole Jim " . 631 

• I'nole Jerry " 631 

University gradnates 210 

Varieties of hills 671 

Vincent, Miss d^5 

\'illai;es of the county 363 

Wilcox coiintv 393 

Waite I 319 



Webb 317 

Wilson 491 

Waldron 494 

Walker 494 

Walker. J. W 345 

Williams 557 

Whatlev. M.F 600 

Wliatley 537 

Walker Springs beat 363 

Wheeless 554 

White 525 

Walker. Taudv 535 

Webb, Dr...." 537 

West 53-: 

Wilson. J 575 

WiKHiwanl 44S 

Woodanl 408 

Woodard. 3h-s. E. H 41t5 

Washington's w inter-quar- 
ters 4-'' 

AVater-ram i)6 

West Florida 49 

Wild Fawn of Pascasoula.. !>6 

Wilkinson "■. 106 

Washiniiton couutv 70 

AVakelield " 79 

Yazoo companies 76 

York 704 



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J. W. HICKS & CO 

LOWER PEACH TREE, ALA. 



DEALEKS IN 



DRY GOODS AND GROCERIES, 

HATS, CAPS, BOOTS AXD SHOES, 

Hosiery, Gloves, Cravats, Bonnets, Ribbons, 

DRESS GOODS, LACINGS, EDGINGS, EMBROIDERIES. 

CARBON OIL, LAMPS AND CHIMNEYS, 

TOBACCO, SNUFF AND CIGARS. rj 
Cotton bo ught at liberal prices. 

^ R. A. GILBERT. 

MANX'FACTrUKll OF 

BOOTS, SHOES, BRIDLES, HARNESS, & 



PROrRlETO 



Grove Hill Tannery, ancUlealer in General Merchandise, 
GROVE HILL, ALA. 

Bridle Harness, Sole ai^dlJi^iJ^i^l^er. Calf, Kip, Deer and 
' Goat Skins for sale at Bottom Pries. 

I eather and Leather Goods given in exchange for Hides. 
Inducements offered to wholesale buyers. 



MRS. BELLE DAFFIN.. 

GROVE HJLL, AL>.. 

' HEALER IN 

Dry &oo(l8, , groceries, Hardware, Queensware 

BoryrS AND SHOES, HATS AND CAPS, 

DaUaS ANL.. MEDICINES, SCHOOL BOOKS, STATIONERY EiC 

And .11 goods ke,.t in a retail store at Lowest Cash Pnce. AH wisl 

ing articles Wour line will do well to call and examine 

Yiofore buying elsewhere. 



J. FOSCUE, 

CHEAP Variety Store, Coffekvili.e, Ai.a., 



DEAI.EU IN 



DRY GOODS AND GROCERIES, 

BOOTS, SHOES, HATS, CAPS, 

Gloves, Bonnets, Ribbons, Dress Goods, Corsets, Embroideries, 

Flour, Glass, Nails, School Books, Stationery, Ink, Pens, 

Farming Tools, Cutlery, Confectionery, 

And the various otlier articles usually found in a country store. 

A LIBERAL PRICE PAID FOR COTTON. 



JAMES L. CLARKE, 

"Clarke's Stoke," Clarke County, Alabama, 



DEALER IN 



DRY GOODS AND GROCERIES, 

BOOTS AND SHOES, HATS AND CAPS, 

Hosiery, Cravats, Bonnets, Ribbons, Gloves, Dress Goods, 

EMBROIDERIES, LACINGS, 

Lamps, Chimneys, Glass, Nails, Flour, Salt, School Books, Paper, 

Pens, Ink, Envelopes, Farming Tools, Tobacco, SnutT, Cigars. 

COTTON BOUGHT AT LIBERAL PRICES. 

B. L. HIBBARD. 

MONROEVILLE, ALA., 

ATTORNEY AT LAW, 

Will practice in the courts of Monroe and Clarke counties, the Su- 
preme Court of the State and the United States Circuit 
and District Courts. 



■ LITTLE, WILKINSON & CO. 

(late HARGROVE, LITTLE & CO.) 

Wholesale Grocers 

32, 34 AND 36 North Commerce Street, 

MOBILE, ALA. 

J. KIRKBRIDE. M. F. KIRKBRIDE. IRA W. PORTER 

IRA W. PORTER & CO. 

DEALERS IN 

DOORS, SASH AND BLINDS, 

Agents for B. F. Avery & Sons' Plows and Imple- 
ments, Kentucky Cane Mills, Howe's Plat- 
form AND Grocer's Scales, &c. 

Southeast Cor. St. Francis and Water Sts. 
MOBILE, ALA. 

J. D. GATES. J. .1. BOTTER. 

OATES & BOTTER, 

WHOLESALE DEALERS IN 

FLOUR, GRAIN, 

AND WESTERN PRODUCE, 
Seed Oats. . Seed Rye. 

Nos. 25 N. Front and 26 N. CoMMERrE Sts., 

MOBILE, ALA. 



KlVKKS POUTIS. 1"A D. POKTI>. 

PORTIS & PORTIS, 

DKALEKS IN 

DRY GOODS, GROCEUIES, 

DRUGS AND MEDICINES. 

PAINTS AND OILS, CHINA, GLASS AND QUEENSWARE, 

WOOD AND TINWARE, 

SUGGSVILLE, ALABAMA. 



DR. A. Y. BETTIS. 
PRACTICING PHYSICIAN, 

15R0WNW00D, 

Brown County, Texas. 



A. M. AVING. 



DEALEK IN 



Dry Goods, Hats, Caps, Boots and Shoes, 

HARDWARE, GLASS AND QUEENSWARE, 
CHOICE STAPLE AND FANCY GKOCEPJES. 

My Goods have been bought Low, for Cash, and selected with the 
Greatest (are, and will be sold at the very Lowest Prices. 

CoUNTKY PlinOrCE TAKKN IN EXCHANGE FOR GoODS. 

JACKSON, ALABAMA. 



S. T WOODARD, 



DBA1,>.K IX 



J)EYGOODS,GROCERIES, 

HATS, SHOES, 
HARDWARE, CROCKERY, TINWARE, 

Drugs, Medicines and Notions. 

Highest cash prices paid for Cotton, Hides, Bees-wax, and 
all Couutrj Produce. 

BOCKVILLE, ALABAMA. 



J. E. DuBOSE. 

DEALER IN 

General Merchandise, 

JACKSON, CLARKE CO., ALA. 



J. W. FLEMING, M.D. 

Office * 
Store op C. J. Fleming & Son, CROVE HILL, ALA. 

Offers his professional services to the citizens of Grove Hill 
and surrounding country. 



JOHN W. POR'llS. 
ATTORNEY AT LAW, 

SuGGsviLLE, Clarke Co., Ala. 



